Transformers Re-Prime-d Season 1
by Valencia Knight
Summary: A Decepticon femme forever changes the events of Transformers Prime. Haunted by her past, and afraid of what she has become, she struggles with morality and love, all while hiding her true motives from the faction she calls family. This story is Season 1/part 1 of the overall journey [Megatron/OC] [St3ve/OC] [Wheeljack/OC] [Optimus/OC] [Soundwave/OC] [Knockout/OC] [Bulkhead/Arcee]
1. Darkness Rising

Darkness Rising

Striker's POV

An explosion lit the sky an electric blue. The sonic recoil sent me a good ten paces back, and Cliffjumper a good twenty down. Down. Down into the earth. He was recovered by vehicons; dirty purple drivers. I was covered. My gold armor's glitter was lost beneath crumbled rock debris. My red and black striped detail were the only things I could see, on an arm a seven paces away from me. I didn't know what to do. I could've waited for my teammates to arrive, but that would've meant letting one of them get away. I pushed up on my left arm, to my knees, hopped to my feet. Then I ran. I ran, and I ran, and I snuck, and I ran. And I ran until I got on board of the ship those Cons brought Cliffjumper to. And I waited, and waited, and waited, and struck, and dodged, and hit, and was hit, and fell, and bled, but not bled out. My optics would go offline a bit after his. But, there was a difference between us. Mine would turn back on.

...

Shadow's POV

Megatron and I flew through the spacebridge. We returned to the airfields on Earth. We continued down to the planet's surface. It was a vibrant world, full of life. Starscream called Megatron through his personal COM link. He seemed nervous, possibly frightened, possibly proud. Whatever the case, he didn't want to let us come aboard the Nemesis. _Arrogant fool. Either he screwed something up and doesn't want us –I mean, Megatron- to see, or he's planning another coo._ Starscream prompted us to meet him at an energon mine. We transformed into our cybertronian flight forms and flew. While soaring through the clouds, a sleek, black jet threatened us. I scanned the stealthy flight form and transformed. As a show of power, Megatron blew the machine out of the sky. The poor thing was only informing us that we were unidentified aircrafts in restricted military airspace. We arrived at the mine: a mountain the Nemesis hovered above. We flew through the crater into the mine. Starscream greeted Megatron. I rolled my optics at the fool. _Suck up._ Then Megatron spoke.

"Starscream, I have a question."

"Yes my Lord?"

"Upon my return –from travels that have separated me from my troops for many of this world's solar cycles- you thought that it was best for me to welcomed back in an Energon mine?"

"Of the energon deposits we have located while you were away lord Megatron, this one is by far the most significant."

"And, your point?"

"Well, my Lord, I thought you might want to witness my success –I mean, the Decepticon's success- we've achieved while you were away."

"Are you implying that the Decepticons are more successful when I am absent, Starscream?"

"N-no my Lord! I-I swear I—"

"Screamy," I cut-in, "Our Lord is playing you, lighten up."

"A-a joke?" He stared wide-eyed at Megatron, "My Lord?"

I chuckled a bit. I loved whenever Megatron did stuff like this to Screamy. Megatron glanced in my direction. I saw the corners of his mouth perk. Mine calmed into a warm smile. I was happy. And then Starscream impatiently tapped his ped against the rock below.

"Continue Starscream," Megatron bellowed, "prove your worth."

The commander straightened his posture, stammered a bit, and then continued his self-praising spiel; "The drones have been mining without pause during your absence and have amassed quite a stockpile my Lord." Starscream pointed to a vehicon that was standing nearby and called out to him, "You there! Fetch me a sample."

Megatron spoke, displeased at Screamy's authoritative tone, "Starscream," My Lord said, "now that I have returned, I will issue the commands."

Starscream recovered quickly. It sickened me how sarcastically he spoke, "I understand Lord Megatron." He smugly said, then grinned and insulted my Lord as he sarcastically said, "Then, as your humble servant, shall I ready the spacebridge to bring forth the **Decepticon army** _you must have surely gathered_ during _your three years_ in space?"

 _Smug piece of slag,_ I thought to myself.

Megatron stated boldly, "My army will come. But my time away has yielded a more intriguing means of materializing them. A solidified form of the matter the ancient texts referred to as the blood of unicron."

Starscream asked, "Unicron the destroyer? But it is said that his blood is the anti-spark."

"Plucked from cosmic shores," my Lord said, "gaze upon dark energon," as he showed the commander a shard of the dark energon.

"Legend tells that it has the power to revive the dead."

"We require only cadaver to be certain." Megatron turned to his subordinate, "Are you willing to make the ultimate sacrifice?"

Starscream hastily evaded his Lord's command. "Aheheheh. That may not be necessary. If I may, Lord Megatron," the commander gestured the bodies of two Autobots. Both were restrained, upon transport –hover- slabs of metal.

On the left was the husk of the Autobot known as Cliff jumper. On the right was the... _she just moved?_ That Autobot was definitely alive. _Striker, right? He brought a live Autobot to the presence of Lord Megatron? A one-armed Autobot? Not one for a fair, honorable gladiatorial fight to the death. Why? So we can dispose of her ourselves in a dishonorable fashion? Why? She could still do damage. Why? Does Screamy not know?_

Starscream said, "consider them, a welcome home present."

Megatron started to walk toward the deceased Cliff jumper. I considered jumping in front, so that I could best protect my Lord. But, I didn't. Something selfish in me caused me to drop back: to move closer to Starscream. I didn't want him to correct his mistake. I wanted him to fail, and I wanted him to fail big. Old grudges die hard I guess.

I broke the ice, "So then, Screamy, sorry to have this be your first big official meeting with Megatron, since his return."

Starscream questioned, "What is that supposed to mean Shadow? And why do you continue to call me by that incessant name?"

I explained, "The first is due to the whole dark energon thing. Megatron's been a fanatic ever since we found a bunch of it out in deep space. I felt bad about him implying your worth being equivalent to a dead bot: to be used for experimental purposes. The latter; however, is a short nickname."

Starscream cried annoyed, "How is any of that supposed to make me feel any better?"

I admitted, "You know Screamy, I hadn't really thought all that through."

The commander shouted, "Vector Sigma! What is it with you femmes?"

I defended, "Hey! I was just trying to be nice, trying to be submissive, but fine! I guess that—"

Starscream apologized, "Ugh! Sorry, just stop. Listen it's been a tough day—"

I jested, "Tough for you losing your power."

Starscream continued, "Yes, losing my... No! Don't interrupt me like that. I was trying to apologize! Anyway, I know we haven't always gotten along best in the past -But, since Megatron's back- maybe we could try."

"I'm all for it Screamers if you are- just don't cross me or use me as a scape goat."

Starscream deviously said, "Yes, yes. We should go join our lord before he thinks we're plotting something."

I smiled and asked half seriously, "Are we?"

Starscream over-acted. He cried, "What? No! Not this close literally behind his back! I mean, why would we ever need to plot? Lord Megatron is an excellent leader."

Lord Megatron stopped at Cliffjumper's remains. We stopped behind him. I looked back over to the live Autobot. Her optics were shut. I saw a finger on her hand twitch. I could not hold myself back anymore. I sprung in front of Megatron. I drew one of my swords and held its blade against her neck.

"Shadow!" Starscream yelled, "What is your malfunction?"

"This Autobot is alive!" I shouted back. "She could've made an attempt on our Lord's life!"

I made sure not to imply that the assassination attempt was one of Screamy's schemes. I didn't want him as an enemy. Not again. Instead, I hoped that Megatron would put the pieces of the puzzle together without my help.

"Alive?" Starscream questioned, "She is not!" He turned to Megatron, "I guarantee you -my Lord- I killed both of these Autobot-scum myself."

"Prove it," I said.

Starscream made his claw into a dagger, and aimed to slice it into Striker's chest cavity. I could not allow that. I stopped his claw.

"What? You wanted me to prove it! This is me proving the scum's non-reactive dead-state."

"And if she's alive?" I questioned.

"If she's alive," Megatron continued my sentence, "Starscream would be ending the life of a weaponless, defenseless, helpless, enemy."

Starscream looked back at Megatron for some sign of approval, some sign that meant the commander might continue his demonstration.

"Such an act," Megatron said, "has no honor, and no place in my troops."

Starscream stopped.

"My Lord?" I questioned. "What are your orders?"

"Are you certain that the Autobot is alive?"

"Yes, my Lord."

"Then ensure she is incapacitated. We will question her aboard the Nemesis, after my experiment."

I checked the femme's state. She was out-cold. Megatron stepped closer to the red mech's husk.

He announced, "Let us see if power borne of darkness can reignite the spark." Megatron stabbed the shard of dark energon into cliff jumper's spark chamber. The three of us backed up in anticipation of a threatening reaction.

Cliffjumper fused with the purple energy. The husk growled like a mad dog, then tore from its restraints. It lunged at a vehicon and proceeded to rip the mech to shreds. The vehicon screamed like a banshee before lying silent and still. The zombie turned its attention towards a second vehicon. This vehicon fired his lasers to no avail. The zombie rushed the con, extinguishing his spark as if it were the beast's nature.

Starscream -terrified by what he had just witnessed- yelled, "That's your plan? Bring Autobots back from the dead, to attack us!"

Megatron responded coldly, "That is no longer an Autobot: just a mindless beast. Its only instinct: to destroy anything in its path."

The zombie growled and ran at Megatron. Our lord unsheathed his blade and sliced the mindless beast in half. Half of the beast fell of the cliff, while the other half hung on to the rock's edge.

Megatron triumphantly called, "There Starscream, lies the indestructible seed of my army. The ultimate weapon!"

The half still grappling with the edge struggled to climb back up. This mangled thing growled at Megatron. In response, our lord kicked the beast right off the ledge.

Megatron dramatically finished his statement, "Once I learn to control it."

Starscream and I stood still for a few moments. Shock had rushed my mainframe. _Zombies,_ I thought, _why do there have to be zombies?_

Starscream couldn't stand not listening to himself talk, and he praised Megatron, "Good show master. Shall we retire to the Nemesis?"

Megatron gaffed, "Of course. But before we do..." He turned towards me, "Shadow, remember the crystalized formation of dark energon we found?"

I nodded, "Do you wish me to go through the spacebridge and retrieve it?" "No," he replied quickly, "I'll get it. Make sure Starscream updates you on all matters and that he is hospitable. I'll meet you on the Nemesis later." Megatron took a running start, transformed into his gun-metal gray cybertronian jet form, and flew off.

Starscream turned to me, "Shadow, let's go," he commanded.

We walked in bitter silence to the elevator. We stayed quiet all the way up and to the bridge.

He forgot the Autobot Femme. I decided not to remind him. He seemed more distracted than anything else.

I thought I'd break the ice, "Commander Starscream," I politely addressed the fool, "What is new?"

Starscream smiled at the mention of his title. He continued to walk as he responded, "Autobot activity: The first time in three years. In a place called Jasper Nevada, USA. Humans accompanied the Autobots Arcee and Bumblebee. Other than that, nothing else is new."

Satisfied with his formal and compliant response I continued to question him, "How about internal affairs? What's the situation with the Decepticons under your command?"

Starscream promptly answered, "Knockout and Breakdown are off the Nemesis- living and racing among the humans. Soundwave works proficiently as chief communications officer. Vehicons, seekers, and miners are all working at a reasonable rate of efficiency."

"Good." _So he's not a complete failure. I see why he's Megatron's second in command. The Cons won't completely fall apart if he leads._

We walked into the command center. A vehicon alerted everyone to our presence, "Commander on deck," he said. All vehicons stood and saluted Starscream. The egomaniac loved it.

I nudged Starscream, "Megatron, remember? I don't think he'd like this." Starscream cringed at his Master's name, "You're right." He raised his voice to command everyone's attention. "Attention everyone. This formal salute is no longer necessary. Lord Megatron has returned to lead us. He is the leader, not I."

 _Good save. Smart._

The vehicons got back to work. I walked over to Soundwave. Starscream followed. I greeted the chief communications officer. "Hello Soundwave." He turned away from his monitor for a moment, nodded, and went back to work.

Starscream gestured to me, "Shadow, he's busy at work like always. Shall we move on?"

I looked at Soundwave, and then to the monitor he worked on. It looked extremely complicated. I pointed to a round symbol on the screen, "Is this the spacebridge?"

Soundwave nodded. An alert appeared on his screen. 'Lord Megatron is coming through the spacebridge.'

Starscream started to jitter, "Establish communications immediately and send him our coordinates."

Soundwave nodded, 'Already done.'

Starscream's foot tapped repetitively on the ground; "We'll meet him in the hanger. Come Shadow."

Starscream walked quickly. Each step was louder than the last. We passed by some vehicons on the way. I signaled for them to follow us, Starscream didn't notice. By the time we reached the hanger, six vehicons accompanied us. Starscream paced in anticipation for Megatron.

I summoned two vehicons from their group, "You two," I said, "go prepare a room in which to store a hazardous and valuable item," I extended my arms in lengths of length width and height, "of this size" I said.

Both vehicons responded, "Yes, Shadow of Death. What are your orders after we are done?"

I thought for a moment, "Once you are done, come back here." The vehicons nodded and left. I waited with Starscream for a few minutes, and then the hanger door opened. Megatron landed and transformed. He dropped a large dark energon formation. The two vehicons I ordered returned.

Starscream greeted Megatron, "Welcome back master. How was your trip?"

Before Megatron could respond, I cut in, "Lord Megatron. These vehicons have secured a room for the dark energon."

Megatron looked pleased, "Good job Shadow.

I smiled.

He signaled to the six vehicons that stood behind me, "Vehicons," he called, "take the dark energon to that location."

I stopped one of the two I had ordered from before. The other five walked up to the energon, lifted it and carried it away. Megatron looked at me confused,

"Shadow, why did you stop this one?" He asked.

I responded nervously, "This one can lead us to the location."

He nodded, "Good job... But, next time, don't hinder my orders."

My spark stopped. _Did I just screw up? Frag! Why? Why do I have to be such a fracking failure? I wish I could just die. I don't want Megatron to hate me._

Starscream quickly added onto his master's command, deepening the wound, "yes, Shadow," he said, "don't mess with Megatron's orders. He **is** the leader of the Decepticons and therefore all of his commands are to be followed exactly as he mandates them."

 _Suck up._ I nodded. _If I were dead I wouldn't have to deal with this embarrassment._ I looked back to his smug smile and Megatron's glowing expression at being 'praised'. Under my breath I whispered, "Suck up" about Starscream. That attention seeking con was an annoyance.

Megatron commanded the vehicon, "Lead us to the location."

The vehicon nodded, "Yes Lord Megatron." He led us.

Starscream tried to schmooze Megatron the entire way. I walked silently behind all of them. I wanted to be like Ghost, and disappear. Not to be noticed: To let my shame –from my failure- fade into obscurity.

The vehicon stopped in front of a door. "We have arrived," he spoke as he gestured to the entrance.

Megatron looked pleased, "Leave us," he bellowed.

My spark-beat quickened, and I took a step backward, wondering if the command also was directed to me. I did just fail earlier. I let him one. I let myself down. I raised myself in his eyes and raised Starscream in comparison. _Such a failure._ But, I stayed. It was always possible I was over-reacting to his comment earlier. He always said that my strictest discipliner was myself. He thinks I should ease up, to relax more around him, even if he does criticize me. I should not focus on the negatives. He could be right. I could also just be overcomplicating it all. _Maybe I should leave_...

The vehicon left.

Megatron glared at Starscream, "I said, leave us."

 _So..._ I thought to myself, _not me?_

Starscream fidgeted with his claw-like hands. He squeamishly defended himself, "Lord Megatron, as your **Second** in command I should accompany you to—"

Megatron cut off the seeker, "Are you arguing with me Starscream?"

The commander squealed, "No my Lord! I was just—"

Megatron bellowed, "Then do as you are told and leave!" I watched Starscream as he hightailed it to the command center. Megatron turned to me. My spark-beat quickened. "Shadow," he kindly asked, "would you care to join me?"

I followed Megatron into the room. He walked up to the dark energon. It was displayed within a protective cylindrical case in the center of the room.

Megatron marveled at the object, "Shadow, this embodies the spoils of our journey."

 _Our journey._ I liked that he mentioned me. I enjoyed being in his presence when he's like this. Neither of us felt the need to say anything. I was content. He stared intensely at the dark energon for a while.

He questioned, "Blood of Unicron. How might I fathom the depths of your mystery? Become worthy of wielding your astonishing power?"

The monitor turned on, Starscream appeared, "Lord Megatron, intruders have been detected in the mines."

Megatron asked, "Optimus?"

Starscream confirmed his master's speculation, "Indeed."

Megatron turned to his 1st lieutenant; "I need more time to prepare an appropriate reception for my old friend. Ready the ship for departure!"

Starscream was shocked, "B-but the energon I've mined! The Autobots will seize it!"

 _Also the Autobot you left there. She will be recaptured._

"Then blow the mines!" Megatron roared.

The monitor turned off.

Megatron turned to me, "He can be so argumentative," he sighed. Megatron walked closer to me, "Are you sure you don't want his job?"

I responded calmly, "We've talked about this before," I shook my head, "If I took the job, Starscream would kill me." Megatron was extremely close to me. Our frames almost touched. I sighed, "I don't desire any position of power." Megatron stared at my face. He examined every last movement of mine. "Besides, I'd much prefer the freedom I currently experience."

Megatron embraced me in a side hug, "You never change," he whispered into my audio processor. He let me go, but did not back away.

I observed the large mech with kind optics. I cocked my head to the side, "Do you want to go get some energon from the ship's dining hall?"

He responded affectionately, "I would love to." We left the room and walked to the energon dispensary. We each got an amount of energon and sat down at a table. Megatron began to tell one of his favorite war stories. It was of when he and his forces broke through the Autobot defenses surrounding the old Capital. We drank as he recounted this tale. I was on the front lines, leading the charge. I remember cutting down the enemy- fast, deadly, unstoppable. Megatron and I had been good friends for a while now. Megatron finished his story.

I recollected, "That seems to be such a long time ago. Vector sigma! I can barely even remember the time before I was on your private taskforce. Do you remember then?"

"When you were among the Warriors Elite? Some died, some became Phase Sixers. All is history. Not now though."

"Say Megatron, can you remember the time we met- or when we first became friends?"

Megatron tried to remember but the high grade was getting to him, "Now that you mention it, I can't. To me, it seems as if we'd always been friends. Even if, we only met after the war began, hmmm... Do you think Soundwave even remembers what battle you were promoted to the WE after, O' Shadow of Death?"

I laughed.

Megatron smiled at my joyful reaction.

"Ah," I let out a deep breath, "those were some good times. But, you really don't have to call me that."

Megatron jested, "Oh Death's Shadow, what don't I have to call you?"

Megatron's face lit up at the sight of my laughter. I shook my head, "Vector sigma, the Autobots who came up with that name," - _my past-_ I sighed. "It's getting late. Should we pick this up tomorrow?" _I don't. I just... Autobots. Stay. Don't leave me to my thoughts. Please, please, please don't do what I just said. I'd take it back, but that would be admitting my mistake. Just, disagree with me, okay? Don't go._

Megatron's smile faded, "Sure," he said. We both got up. "I'll show you to your old room." We walked in silence. Megatron stopped at my room and opened the door. My spark fell. "Good night Shadow," He said with warmth, "until tomorrow."

 _Until tomorrow...I wish that were tonight._

I smiled, although I enjoyed his company, I knew was tired. Staying up later, and talking longer, would lead to a fault in judgment. I walked to my doorway, "Rest well my Lord" I said sweetly. We exchanged glances briefly before he left. I looked around my room. I spent three years away. I drew my swords from their holsters on my back, and placed them on their rack. I took off my armor and put it away in my dresser. I put on lighter weight metal armor. Incase I desired to leave my room during the night; I did not want my synthetic flesh to be bare. I looked over my desk, which was covered in dust. I sat down and turned on my monitor. I looked over current cars for a suitable replacement model. I settled on a current Lamborghini.

A knock came from my door. "Shadow," Starscream called, "Are you there?"

I turned off my monitor and got up, "Come in Starscream" I suggested.

My door opened and Starscream walked inside. He observed my outfit. Starscream spoke with sleep in his thoughts, "Since you're planning on resting, I'll make this short."

I sighed, "Go on Screamy."

He asserted himself, "I'll be blunt and skip the formalities- Shadow..." he paused.

I could tell Starscream was worried about the stability of his position. He was before, and he isn't one to change easily. I decided to end his worries, "No Screamy, I do not want your job."

Starscream's jaw dropped in shock, "W-What? You can't be serious? How am I supposed to trust you? I can't just take your word for something like that."

I was tired and his mistrust annoyed me. I responded candidly, "Fine, if you want proof, I'll explain why I don't want your job. Would that get this off of your mind?"

Starscream nodded, "An explanation would suffice as proof."

I exhaled, "I don't want your responsibility. I don't want others lives in my own hands. I don't want the stress of making a mistake and the knowledge that if someone died or something went wrong, it'd be my fault. I also don't want your surveillance. I don't want to be watched by everyone- to have to set an example. I don't want to have to lead others. I also don't want to be constantly judged for all my actions."

 _The last happens no matter what rank I take._

Starscream looked at me with disbelief and joked, "No way my job sucks that much. I mean ahem... what makes your job better than mine?"

I smiled, "I am the last surviving member of Megatron's personal taskforce, there is no better job. I am under his direct jurisdiction, so you," I pointed to Starscream, "or anyone else, can't command or punish me. I get my orders directly from him, and am given complete freedom. I am given freedom to see my orders through any way I want. So, if I wanted to command some vehicons for the sake of completing the mission, I could. Because Megatron is the only one who commands me, whenever I don't have orders, I'm free. I could go wherever or do anything without repercussion. Also, since I'm the sole member of the taskforce, I do not feel threatened; I am the best at what I do. Similarly, the taskforce was a group of highly skilled warriors. So, since Seekers are under your jurisdiction and vehicons aren't highly skilled, I will never be replaced. I have freedom, job security and am in no way threatened by anyone or anything. I have the perfect job," I smugly stated.

Starscream looked at me with a raised eyebrow, "So then, how would I ensure that you always like your job? I mean: I like my job because of the power, praise, respect, title and authority it gives me. What is it you look for?"

I thought for a moment, "I want praise and recognition for doing something right. As long as I have that, I will never attempt to usurp you."

Starscream smiled devilishly. "Thank you Shadow," He said. "I appreciate you taking the time to explain this to me. You are ever so good at- ah that- Thank you again, nice job."

I laughed, "Thank you Screamer, I couldn't have asked for any better. But you don't have to over-do the praise." I smiled and shook my head. "Have a nice night Commander," I said.

I walked over to my berth, lied down beneath the sheets and powered down.

...

The next morning... my optics opened. I got off of my berth and walked over to my dresser. I changed into my battle armor and looked into the mirror. My black paint was fading. Soon, it would reveal my natural silver color. I sighed and moved towards my door. I looked over the room I once called my own. I left, closed my door and walked towards the command center. I reached the main doors, which opened, revealing the spacious headquarters. Megatron was talking with Soundwave. Starscream had just finished yelling at a vehicon.

I walked over to the distressed commander, "Good morning," I greeted. Starscream had an annoyed look on his face, "What's wrong?" I asked.

Starscream almost cried, "The energon! It was- but it- it –I-I it it's all" he stammered.

I took a deep breath, "Screamy, calm down," I said. "Take a deep breath and relax. Okay? Now try again."

Starscream calmed down, "Yesterday, not all the deposits of energon were collected, before the mine was blown. A lot of energon was lost... Also the Autobot. Does that mean that I can take credit for two extinguished sparks?"

I took another breath; I was annoyed: I wanted to say something about the miners. But, I decided against it. If the loss of life and workers were due to my actions I wouldn't want to be reminded of it. I consoled Starscream, "It'll be fine, there are other energon deposits."

Megatron came over to us, "It is good to see you both get along. Now, Starscream, Shadow, let's go to the dark Energon and discuss yesterday's events."

We walked to the room in silence. Megatron and I did. Much like yesterday, Starscream loved to listen to himself speak.

Starscream gloated, "I don't think you need worry about further Autobot interference, master. Not with Optimus gone."

Megatron questioned, "And what evidence do you possess of this fact?"

"I destroyed the mines as you instructed."

"Optimus is not so easily destroyed," Megatron, said skeptically, "We have millennia of battles behind us to prove it." Megatron stared obsessively at the dark energon.

Starscream suggested, "Maybe you should take a break, my lord. I worry that too much contact with dark energon might allow its properties to adversely affect you."

Megatron angrily shouted, "Or perhaps Starscream, I have not permitted myself contact enough!" Megatron reached into the container and broke a shard off of the dark energon formation.

Starscream screeched, "Wait! Lord Megatron! No! Not your spark chamber! You do not know what it will do!"

 _I hate you Screamy! Why did you give him that Idea?_ There was nothing I could do.

Megatron plunged the shard into his spark chamber. He started to flail in place while gasping for air and making growling noises. After a few seconds of complete pain, Megatron straightened up and stood still. His eyes had changed from red to purple.

I was terrified. I slowly and cautiously walked towards my Lord. I quietly asked, "Lord Megatron, how are you? Hurt? Okay?"

Megatron turned towards me. I couldn't stop looking at his new purple eyes. Megatron bellowed, "I am powerful! I can feel the blood of Unicron rushing through my veins! With this, the Autobots don't stand a chance!"

I backed away. Megatron wasn't the same. He was obsessed with power. He was before, but this was different. I could feel the dark energon emanating from his spark chamber. Starscream was too timid to comment.

This power hungry Megatron looked at me confounded, "Shadow..." He out reached his arm. I backed away a bit more. He walked towards me, servo in reach. It touched the metal plating in front of my spark chamber.

An awesome amount of pain spread across my chest. I could feel the dark energon affect me. It started to disintegrate a part of my armor. I sidestepped and back flipped many lengths away. I had trained myself to withstand pain. Not this much, it felt as if my spark was being ripped apart, I did not make a sound, but my face said it all.

Megatron retracted his servo and stared at it. He said to his self, "This power destroys..." He looked back at me. He could sense my pain; I could not tell if he cared though. Megatron was obsessed with his power. Or at least I thought he was. Starscream, that un-moral fool was more empathetic than Megatron. He had changed. Megatron had changed.

I placed a servo on my chest plate. It hurt: my spark. It hurt, not because of my physical pain, but because Megatron, my friend, had changed. I exited the room. I went back to my personal quarters and changed my armor. I had many pairs for cases such as this. I put my damaged armor in front of my mirror: to remind me that Megatron had changed and was now dangerous. I did not want to leave my room. Not again. I sat at my desk a while and listened to human music. I picked up more of their vocabulary, much like before. Before I left, three years ago, I used to do stuff like this. After an hour, I left my room and went to the command center. Soundwave and Starscream were talking.

Starscream called out, "Soundwave! I fear that when our master reached for the stars, he came down with a touch of space madness. Lord Megatron has not been of sound judgment since his return... Increase global surveillance."

Soundwave replayed Megatron's previous instructions, "Quit groveling and await my command."

Starscream screeched, "I'm not deaf! But, if Optimus Prime lives... I believe it is in Lord Megatron's best interest that we ensure his enemy's destruction."

I walked up to my comrades, "If we're increasing energon consumption on surveillance, we should decrease energon use in travel. Let's land the Nemesis out of sight."

Soundwave nodded and went to work on surveillance. Starscream turned to me, "Shadow, are you alright?"

 _Why would you care? You're just going to use this against Megatron. Mixed about that. Mixed about him._

I sighed, "I'm fine. Megatron's dark spark's energy is conductive. It merely moved from his spark to his servo to my armor. For future reference, we know to avoid physical contact with his 'power'."

Starscream looked over his shoulder at Soundwave, then inched closer to me. He whispered, "You know, you're pretty smart Shadow. If Megatron was too much of a dangerous leader to erm... lead. You could be an excellent second in command."

 _But, he's... he's... no. I won't. I can't._

Soundwave walked up to us. Starscream jumped a few feet and screamed when he noticed how close Soundwave was.

Our communications officer repeated an intercepted radio signal, "Agent Fowler, I'm in route from the Autobot base. I'll brief you in person."

Starscream schemed, "Autobot base eh? Humans: always the weak link. Fetch me this Fowler, so that he may brief us instead."

Soundwave detached Laserbeak, who flew to retrieve agent Fowler. Soundwave walked away.

I turned to Starscream, "Screamy two things," He nodded. I whispered, "First, don't talk about that subject in the same room as Soundwave. Second, I don't want to finish this conversation with you," I walked over to Soundwave.

I questioned the intelligence officer, "Soundwave?" He turned his head towards me to signal he was listening. I asked, "This intercepted message. Was it near the location of Jasper Nevada?" Soundwave nodded. "And the Autobots' human allies? They're from Japer too?" Soundwave nodded again. "Another day I might do recon there."

'You're not a scout.'

"I used to be."

'That was a long time ago.'

"I've gone on recent-ish missions with Ghost. I know how to Scout."

Soundwave got a message from Laserbeak. His partner had the human and was almost to the ship. I left to get a vehicon and this human. I walked down to the hanger and relieved a vehicon from his guard duty to accompany me. We walked into the hanger to see Laserbeak holding onto a pudgy adult male in a blue suit. The vehicon grabbed the human and carried him. We walked into an interrogation room. From my faulty memory, it was Starscream's favorite one. Luckily, the commander was waiting for us inside. I walked out of the way and watched. The vehicon placed Fowler on the ground and pushed him forward towards Starscream. The human fell and made a grunting noise.

Starscream used a threatening devilish voice, "Welcome, agent Fowler."

In a sarcastic voice Fowler replied, "You treat all your guests this nice?"

I smirked. This human was funny.

Starscream threatened, "Hmhmhm, any friend of the Autobots—"

Fowler played dumb, "Autobot? That one of them coin operated wash my own car places?"

I burst with laughter. This Fowler was stand-up comedian funny.

Starscream said annoyed, "Oh, so that's how it's going to be. Apparently no one has told you, I have no appreciation for human humor." Starscream gestured to the vehicon and commanded, "Make our guest comfortable," before leaving.

The vehicon started to restrain the human by tying up his arms. He planned to hang this agent from the ceiling.

I walked up to the human. I wanted to coax information from him. I kindly spoke, "Agent Fowler, you are an interesting one. You may be funny and courageous, but are you smart?"

Fowler glared at me, "Why don't you test me and find out?"

I interrogated him, "What do you know about the children? I know they live in Jasper, have helped the Autobots and have received protection. But, I don't know their exact relationship to the Bots."

Fowler chose the path of ignorance. He angrily spurred, "I don't know who you're talking about."

The vehicon had almost finished. I started to walk away from Fowler. I smugly stated, "Fine then. I don't want innocent kids to be hurt. If you truly know nothing, we'll just have to assume the worst and take them out. It's such a shame. If the relationship were something along the lines of babysitting, the kids would be a burden on the Autobots and we wouldn't touch the humans."

 _I really hope he goes along with it. I practically gave him exactly what he needs to know. Now, let's see if he uses it as if it were an idea of his own..._

Starscream came back. He coldly threatened, "Now, Agent Fowler. I have one simple request that will save your family the pain of grieving." Starscream held the human's head with his knife like finger, forcing the human to look at him. Starscream ordered, "Tell me the location of the Autobot base!"

Agent Fowler complied, "No problem. But, I need to ask you something first."

Starscream fell for the ploy, "Yes, I'm listening," he naively answered.

Agent Fowler took the opportunity to strike Starscream's ego. He boldly said, "I got an issue with the customer service around here. Could I speak to the manager?"

I struggled to conceal my laughter. I was failing. I gripped my sides and laughed. Starscream was surprised. He backed away and opened his eyes wide. After a few seconds he narrowed his optics and glared at the human.

Starscream yelled, "Ahhhhhh! I make the decisions here!" Starscream bawled up his fist. He shouted, "I am in charge!" The commander swiped through air next to Fowler with his clenched fist and turned away from the agent. Starscream ordered to the vehicon, "Bring the prod," he commanded.

I walked up to the human and looked over my shoulder at the commander, "Screamy let me try." I turned back to the human. I grew serious, my tone transitioned from kind and joking to a grave statement, "Fowler, this is the last time I will ask. What is the relationship between the human children and the Autobots?"

Fowler looked at me seriously for a moment. He paused, thought, and then answered, "The Autobots babysit the kids. Team Prime takes time out of their schedule to protect the teenagers. If anything, the kids are a nuisance to the Autobots."

Fowler's answer was very calculated, and was delivered very calmly. Exactly as I wanted it to be. I smirked. The answer didn't matter as much as the statement I made. I could interrogate the human, when Starscream could not. I thanked Agent Fowler with a kind glance and a head nod. Anything more, and Starscream could've used that to blackmail me with.

The vehicon came back and handed Starscream an energon prod. Starscream tried to imitate my successful technique, "I ask nicely one last time. The Autobot base!"

Fowler joked, "Sure thing buddy. Right after you eat my star spangled shorts!"

I said under my breath, "Fowler used a sweet burn."

Starscream; however, did not take the joke as lightly. He rammed Fowler with the prod and Fowler emptied his lungs with screams.

Starscream smiled at the human's pain. He devilishly concluded, "As I imagined. Energon and human nervous systems don't mix."

I couldn't stand seeing Fowler get hurt. I exited the brig to join Soundwave in the command center. I guessed the human still felt pain, but now I did not have to witness it. Protecting him –in front of the commander- would have been my end.

When I entered the command center, I noticed that Soundwave was gone. I saw Autobot alerts on many screens. I decided to hide behind a support beam to surprise any possible Autobot attackers. Not much later three Autobots stormed the room and shot all the vehicons dead. Their goal was to leave their humans in a safe area. The bots left as soon as they had come. I moved toward the humans, but kept hidden.

The girl exclaimed, "That was intense!"

The short boy questioned, "Was?"

The male teenager blamed the girl, "It's your fault that we're stuck in this intensity. What were you thinking Miko?"

Miko defended herself, "Did I ask you to follow me?"

The male teenager pointed at Miko and angrily replied, "You wanted us to be a band! Doesn't that usually mean playing together?"

 _They're a band? I wonder what genre..._

Miko sassily retorted, "Well maybe I decided to go solo!"

 _Ooh! No she di'int! This is just like one of those reality tv-shows the humans watch._

The male teen crossed his arms and glared at Miko. He said annoyed, "Well maybe I have some regard for your safety!"

Miko put her hands on her hips and leaned toward the male. She sarcastically said, "Well I'm sorry, is your name Optimus? You can leave my protection to Bulkhead! Thank you very much!"

 _Optimus and Bulkhead... so they did live._

The small human was fed up with being between the two fighting teens. He broke up the fighting by pushing them apart and yelling, "Stop it! Both of you!" The boy ran to the edge of the platform and sat down. I felt sympathetic.

Both the teenagers looked dismayed. They ran to their friend.

The tall boy comforted the sad boy, "Oh, hey, hey, hey, Raf, Raf, it's, it's okay." The teenager sat down with his friend.

Miko sat on the other side of Raf. She reassured him, "We're gonna be fine," and she put a hand on his back.

 _These are the types of friends I used to have. I miss those guys._

The male teenager calmed Raf, "Our bots will come back for us."

Miko agreed, "Yeah, they're gonna take us home."

Raf picked up his head and looked at Miko. He asked her, "How do you know?"

Both teens looked away in uncertainty. The tall boy had found something. He asked Raf, "Hey, hey Raf. Whata ya make of that?"

Raf looked up, jumped off the ledge and walked toward the monitor. Raf concluded, "It's important. Real important. We gotta get this to Optimus."

Miko dramatically asked Raf, "How do you know it isn't just a recipe for space nachos?"

 _Ha! Space nachos. I wish I could chemically create that. I found space cake though... and space bacon. Both taste hella delicious in energon form. I wonder if I'm using that word correctly... hella. Hella? Hella._

Raf looked at Miko and responded, "I know math when I see it and that is one serious equation."

The male teen looked at Raf and asked, "Can you download it?"

Raf took off his back-storage unit, "I've got a flash drive." He took the flash drive out of his bag. Raf looked around and stated his observations, "But I don't see anywhere to plug it in. This tech is way alien."

 _Really? Tech created by another species, from another planet is alien to you? No duh human. No duh._

A vehicon walked into the room. The teenagers ran to hide. The boy ran to his bag. The vehicon spotted Raf. The mech charged and pointed his cannon at the mathematician. Raf raised his arms and gasped.

I wanted to help the humans- but that meant betraying my own kind. The male teenager ran and helped Raf. This situation was killing me. The humans reminded me of a sad cybertronian puppy. I ran from my cover, drew my swords and sliced the vehicon in half. I wasn't thinking: I just didn't want another human to get hurt. I'm such a terrible cybertronian.

Miko ran from her cover and exclaimed, "Cool! I didn't know there was another Autobot on board! And this one uses swords!"

I put a finger on my lips and tried to shush the loud girl, "Shhhh, don't let them hear you."

Miko excitedly exclaimed again, "But why? You just destroyed that Decepticon like it was nothing!"

I face palmed and shook my head. I calmly explained, "Listen, I'm not an Autobot and it is not a good thing that I can so easily turn on my own."

 _I just murdered that guy. That is horrible._

Raf yelled, "You're a Decepticon!"

I made many different 'quiet down' gestures with my servos as I tried to calm the humans, "Yes, yes. I won't hurt you. Now can you please keep your voices down? I don't want to kill another comrade and I sure as hell don't want you three to be hurt."

Raf asked me, "Why?"

"It doesn't matter why."

Miko asked, "Aren't Decepticons supposed to be evil and scary-looking? You are more like cool-looking and not evil. Like a two-armored bad-ass version of Striker."

 _They know Striker? So, she's alive then._

I sighed, "Listen you three—"

Miko interrupted me. "Jack, Raf, and Miko," she said.

I continued, "Listen Jack, Raf, and Miko. You can stay here as long as you're quiet and ask me anything you want—" I gestured with my hand, "If of course it's reciprocal... As long as you don't speak a word of any of this to any Decepticon," I thought for a moment, "Excluding me, if we meet again."

 _Why am I doing this? Just stop. Back out now. Do the right thing –the Decepticon thing- and just get rid of the problem. Get rid of the evidence. Stop talking to the kids._

Miko looked at me wide-eyed, "cool." She went on to circle about me while she observed my swords. She stopped and cried, "Those are so cool! You are so cool! Do you ever just slice anything up? I bet that you—"

I liked this human. She praised me. I liked that. It's an addiction of mine. I guess that's why I stayed.

Jack interrupted his teammate, "Miko, the Decepticon said reciprocal. Stop asking questions!"

Miko whined, "But Jack!"

I sighed; I wanted to remain in the presence of this human female. I wanted her to compliment me. I wanted to feel 'cool'. I said to her, "The questions I would choose to ask are extremely different than those you are thinking of. For example I would ask stuff like, what are your favorite bands, or where are cool places to visit, or what do you like to do in your leisure time."

Miko answered enthusiastically, "I like all metal bands, Tokyo is a cool place to visit and Raf likes to hack computers."

Raf yelled at the girl, "Don't tell her I like to do that! Now she'll only think of me as the computer guy."

 _That boy is the computer guy. Like Soundwave._

I asked Raf, "Can you tell me what any of that means?" I put my servo on the ground for him to climb on. All three humans received a ride up to the computer monitor. I admitted, "I am awful with anything that has to do with computers. But if I can produce something to hold over Starscream..."

Jack asked, "Who's Starscream?"

I answered, "Megatron's second in command. We don't exactly have the best history."

 _Yes, and he is at least trying to make amends. Why can't I ever just forgive and forget? Why must I hold grudges?_ I couldn't trust him.

Miko pounded her fist, "Are you planning on taking him out and stealing his post? Do you want some backup?"

I backed up and waved my arms, "No. No, I am not planning on doing any of that stuff. Screamy and I may not always get along, but to his credit he's trying much harder now."

 _True. So, why am I doing this?_

Raf asked, "I'm confused, what is it that you want with Starscream?"

 _Good question._

Miko popped in, "You mean Screamy?"

 _Geez, she is likable. She takes what I say as truth. I wonder if I could just recruit her, maybe keep her as a pet. We could have so much fun. Wait... where was I again? Uhm, just say something, anything._

"I want to make sure Screamy knows who is superior. I want to ensure that he does not take complete control and that I retain freedom from his command."

 _Good answer. Nothing to validate suspicion for it, but good answer._

Jack asked again, "Why don't you want to be ruler? You seem like a nice bot."

I laughed, "I'd have to imagine that being leader of the decepticons is like owning a bunch of pets. _Not Miko, she would be a fun pet._ I'll give you an example, just imagine this is the list of responsibilities that the Leader would have to follow on a daily basis: Make sure to let Knockout and Breakdown outside. Don't be alarmed if Knockout gets scratches from racing with the humans, or if Breakdown gets dents from off-roading. Remember to feed the vehicons and miners. Make sure the Seekers feel superior to other drones, or they will refuse to be the first to go out into battle. They tend to feel superior when they play with Starscream instead of vehicons. Beware of Starscream and discipline him if he undermines your authority. Starscream is unruly because he wants to be the Alpha. Make sure to praise Shadow, or she will feel unloved and wander off. Do not cross or let information slip in front of Soundwave, he never forgets and will repeat it until the end of time. Occasionally the Decepticons will fight with Autobots. Make sure you give clear orders your subjects will understand. Generally they can't function on their own."

The humans laughed for many minutes. I feared this sound could attract attention.

Miko exclaimed, "You are hilarious! I have to tell Bulkhead about... about... what's your name?"

I quickly answered, "Shadow."

Jack asked confused, "Shadow? Not that I'm ungrateful that you -a Decepticon- saved us. But, Shadow? What kind of name is Shadow for a Decepticon?"

Raf looked at Jack, "come on Jack, Shadow's a pretty cool name."

I looked down at the humans then rubbed the back of my head. I admitted, "Well, Shadow is actually an informal shortened nickname." I turned away from the humans and stated, "It's short for Death's Shadow, which is the less formal version of the name and or title I have. Your Autobot friends would probably know me as 'The Shadow of Death.'"

Miko squealed, "That's so cool!"

 _*Mental Blush* Aww, thanks Miko. I'm glad you think so._

Jack still did not understand, he questioned, "What's the difference? Isn't a name just a name?"

I turned around to face the humans. I agreed with Jack's logic, "You're right. A name is just a name. But, there is still a difference. 'The Shadow of Death' is a title of sorts. When others refer to me as that, it bequeaths power and respect as well as recognition of my skill. Death's Shadow is an informal version. Those who use it recognize my skill and rank- but don't show any respect and or laugh at my power. Screamy and other high-ranking cons call me this when they are pissed. Shadow is the shortened version. It does not show rank or title, it does not demand respect or display my potential. It is just an easy to say name, that my friends call me."

The three stood in awe. Or, at least two of them did. Miko punched the air as she jumped up and down.

Raf looked up at me, "So then, Shadow. You're this really cool, down to earth robot who doesn't want to rank above others, and doesn't want others to be led by bad leaders."

 _Yes! This human too! He shall be my pet as well. This will be fun._

I nodded, even though I did not understand all of his terminology.

 _Wait a second... This kid's smart. He's complementing me with a motive behind it. Don't fall for it!_

Jack requested, "If you don't want Starscream to lead and this looks pretty important," he gestured to the monitor, "then it would be mutually beneficial if we got this to team Prime."

I nodded again. If any Decepticon found out, I'd be fragged.

Raf grew tired of looking for a port for his usb. He looked at me and asked, "Shadow, do you know where I can plug this in to download?"

 _Cybertronian tech + Earth tech? Stop it me. He was nice to me earlier._

I sighed, "I'm sorry Raf, I'm awful with technology like this. Is there any other way you can copy the data?"

Jack had an idea, "Miko! You can take a picture!"

Miko took out her phone and photographed the monitor.

I thought I heard a noise from outside. I turned to the kids and requested, "Miko, Jack, Raf, this has been fun and all, but you three should leave before more Decepticons arrive." The three humans looked dismayed. I placed them on the ground. "Listen," I said, "you three must not tell anyone of this. The Decepticons would have my spark. But, regarding the Autobots. If in the future, the Decepticons try to kill me. ( _Because of how bad of a failure I am as shown by this_ ) It is possible that becoming an Autobot would be an option. If and only if this were to happen, I'd want you three to vouch for me."

 _Aha! Now I'm using them! So, I'm not the worst fool imaginable!_

Miko saluted, "No problem!"

Raf nodded, "Of course Shadow."

Jack agreed with his friends, "Any time Shadow."

The humans left.

 _Good._

I cleaned the command center. I piled the dead vehicons and propped up a monitor that had fallen. Soundwave returned. He called some vehicons to finish my work. Once the command center was clean, Starscream entered. He was fidgeting and scanning the room cautiously. Soundwave went back to his post and worked.

Megatron burst through the door. He roared, "Starscream!"

Starscream rushed to his master's side. He responded scared, "Yes Lord Megatron?"

Megatron silently yelled, "Why is the Nemesis grounded?"

Soundwave played a sound clip, "The Nemesis received sufficient damage in the Autobot attack and was disabled."

Megatron grabbed Starscream by his neck and questioned, "Autobot attack? What did you do?"

Starscream gasped, he defended, "Lord Megatron, it was not my fault! Shadow agreed with me—"

 _Oh frag. He's throwing me under the bus. This is just like before He's placing some of the blame onto me._

Megatron strengthened his grip on the commander's neck at his mention of Shadow. Starscream wheezed, "We were to interrogate a human for the location of the Autobot base."

Megatron threw Starscream and walked toward me.

 _Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no. He hates me, doesn't he?_

He thundered, "Did you complete your goal?"

Starscream felt safer, he admitted, "Well, no. But, it wasn't my fault. We -both of us- interrogated the human. Shadow got answers. The entire thing was rigged. Even when I used her technique, the fleshling did not comply."

Megatron was mere lengths from me. He boomed, "Death's Shadow! You disobeyed my command! You assisted Starscream's personal agenda! Give me one reason why I shouldn't extinguish your spark!"

 _Frag! He does hate me! I wish I were dead now... or, maybe I should think... Oh, I guess it's good I can just join the Autobots then. Those kids were helpful... Wait a second._

I gulped and explained, "I have good Intel. Thanks to my efforts we now know that the Autobot base is near Jasper Nevada. Also, the Autobots have a slight disadvantage; they babysit three young humans, who cause them a great inconvenience. These humans all go to the same school in Jasper. The only benefits the Autobots get from protecting these humans, is the entertainment the female provides, and the tactical hacking and other computer advantages the youngest male offers."

 _Good save, good save. He'll not-hate me for sure._

Megatron turned back to Starscream, and inquired, "Starscream, if Shadow received information using her own methods, why did you not leave her the interrogation of the human? You are a failure as a Decepticon! How dare you disobey me! This is all your fault!"

 _Yay! I am absolved! He hates Screamy, not me!_

Megatron struck Starscream.

 _Ouch..._

Starscream cringed as he fell to the ground. He begged, "Please Lord Megatron! I meant no—" Megatron hit Starscream again. Sparks engulfed the commander's arm as he screamed in pain. He regained his balance and stood up.

Megatron clenched his fist. He reminded the seeker, "I ordered you to await my command!" Megatron backhanded Starscream's head.

The seeker screamed in pain as he flew across the room and crashed backward into a monitor. The sound of the screeches and brightness of the sparks messed with my nervous system. I decided to leave.

 _Why don't I just stand up for others? Oh yeah, he's Starscream. So? Should that matter? He's still a cybertronian. So? I've been a killing machine for how many decades? Why should I care about ethics now? It's wrong. I'm a Decepticon. Those kids might give me the chance to—_

Megatron's yelling pulled me away from my thoughts, as he continued his lecture, "Instead," he said, "your mindless agenda resulted in the disabling of my ship! And the delay of my plan!"

Starscream groveled as he tried to crawl away from Megatron, "My intentions were pure master. I only wanted you to be rid of Optimus."

I walked to the door and watched.

Megatron smashed Starscream's head with his ped, Megatron yelled, "No one rids me of Optimus Prime but me! Do you understand? Do you!" Megatron's ped screeched against Starscream's metal as he added more pressure.

Starscream pleaded, "Lord Megatron, I will make things right. I swear! I know how to set your plans back on course!"

The door opened.

Megatron removed his ped. He grabbed Starscream's neck and elevated him. Megatron demanded, "Explain Starscream. Quickly."

I walked into the hallway toward my room. The hallway was long and narrow. My optics grew heavy. I entered my room and lay on my berth. I was too tired to move. My thoughts contrasted the humans who praised and complemented me to Megatron and Starscream's self-seeking nature. Then back to the cybertronian I had just killed. I hadn't taken another's life in a long time. Not willfully anyway. I don't know why, but I fell asleep wondering how it would feel to be an Autobot on Earth.

...

I awoke to the sound of silence. I did not want to move, so I stayed in my berth, sprawled atop my sheets. I had to force myself to get up with the thought of hunger. I had forgotten to eat yesterday. I got up and moved to my monitor. It was far past mid-day. I had slept in. I walked to the cafeteria and drank some energon. When I was done, I walked to the command center. Like yesterday, Megatron was yelling at Starscream.

Megatron screamed, "Optimus Prime never disappoints. Unlike you Starscream!"

Starscream responded, "No need for concern Master. Soundwave is locking onto Cybertron's coordinates per my instructions."

I sighed, alerting my comrades of my presence. This routine bored me. Bored more than usual, anyway.

Starscream kidded, "Look who finally decided to get up."

 _Go to the pit._

I walked up to Megatron and looked at the Autobots on the monitor.

I asked, "How long have they been standing there?"

Starscream postulated, " Surely Lord Megatron, the Autobots are up to something?"

Megatron responded sarcastically, "Really Starscream?" Megatron smashed the button that connected to everyone's Com links. "Crush them!" he yelled.

I looked to Megatron and asked, "Do you want me to join your attacking force?"

Megatron thought for a moment, then spoke, "You do not have any guns with which to shoot. Use tactics to delay the Autobots until I arrive. Choose one or two enemies to focus on."

I nodded and went to the hanger. I transformed into my jet form and flew in space, towards the Spacebridge. Around me, vehicons were being shot down. I barrel rolled and maneuvered through the space field of debris and laser fire. I landed next to the Autobot Wrecker known as Bulkhead. He was my competition concerning Miko. I drew my swords and activated my facemask.

The Wrecker and I exchanged glances. He called out to his Leader, "Uhm, Optimus, we have a problem." The Wrecker shot at me.

I ran at him. I dodged his fire and lunged at his round torso. Before I struck, the laser fire of Optimus hit me. I was propelled backward. I regained my balance and ran again at Bulkhead. I jumped left and right to dodge both of the Autobots' fire. When I was close to Bulkhead, I ducked left to avoid Optimus' fire. I slashed Bulkhead's side and he fell backward. The spacebridge moved and I lost my balance. I took a moment and stabilized. Arcee focused on me. She fired as she ran towards me. I took a fighting stance. The Spacebridge moved again. Arcee lost her footing and fell. I ran towards her and threw her with my swords. She flew into Bulkhead. I started to run towards them, but the Spacebridge moved again. This shift caused me to lose my balance and fall. The Wrecker came at me with his wrecking ball. I rolled out of the way. He hit the metal where I used to be. I back flipped up, ran at Bulkhead, and jumped at him. I propelled myself off of his torso as he fell backwards. I was aimed at Arcee and I slashed her. She fell down and did not get back up. Bumblebee fired at me. I dodged. Striker used that cover fire to race at me in her race-car form. Direct hit. I break-dance swung my legs at her, kicking her backwards, and I got up.

Megatron landed next to Optimus. Arcee, Bumblebee, Striker, and Bulkhead ran away from their leader. I followed them. Bulkhead and Bumblebee stopped to face me. Bumblebee fired and Bulkhead ran at me. I dodged the Wrecker's swing and I swung at his back. Bulkhead turned around and tried to hit me with his spiked ball. I back flipped out of the way. I ran at Bumblebee. I dodged his fire and slashed his laser canon. Something near Arcee and Striker released a blue energon spike.

Megatron flew towards my position. He shot at the Autobot femmes. Striker dodged, while Arcee blown back into space. I noticed the Nemesis was retreating. I changed into my jet form and flew back. I landed in the hanger and ran to the command center. Starscream was at the helm.

I deactivated my decepticon-symbol-looking mask and yelled at the commander, "Megatron's still out there! We have to go back for him!"

Starscream screamed, "It's too late!"

I roared, "It's never too late!"

Starscream ignored me. In a couple of minutes the Spacebridge exploded.

Starscream called together his troops. He announced, "Decepticons! It is with deep sorrow, that I note for the log, Megatron's spark has been extinguished." He paused. I glared. He commanded us, "All hail Starscream."

All around me, Decepticons saluted the commander. I was not going to serve such cowardly filth. I shouted, "It is your fault Megatron was defeated! I refuse to serve such cowardice!"

The vehicons around me grew silent.

Starscream called to his subjects, "Vehicons! Silence Death's Shadow!"

 _Fragging disrespecting me? You'll regret it. You'll regret all of it!_

I drew my swords and activated my mask, I cried, "Come and face me yourself! I'll extinguish your spark right here, right now!" I could sense Starscream's fear. It emanated from him as power had from Megatron.

 _I've bested fragging Warriors Elite! I've defeated DJD members! I've spared with Megatron! You can't defeat me coward! Just try!_

Soundwave walked up to me and placed his servo on my shoulder. My gaze shifted from the commander to the intelligence officer. I did not want to show how desperately I wanted to be comforted and consoled. _I miss Megatron._ I brushed off his servo and stormed out of the command center. I went to my room and sat down on my berth.

Later, Soundwave entered my room. He played a message from Starscream, "I understand that the grieving process for each Con is different." I clenched my fist.

I looked at Soundwave and said, "There is no evidence of his demise. Lack of evidence should not permit Starscream to rule."

Soundwave sat down next to me and put his arm around my shoulders. I wanted to shake it off, but didn't-couldn't.

He continued his message from Starscream, "Because of this, I will allow you to enjoy your freedom."

 _Freedom? You just murdered my Lord, and now you want to exile me?_

I gave Soundwave an angered-sad look. He could tell I was miserable. Also angry: A dangerous combination for a Decepticon. Soundwave side hugged me in response. I had known Soundwave almost as long as Megatron. We were good friends.

Soundwave got up and finished the message, "Shadow, you may do as you wish on Earth, until you want to rejoin the Decepticons. You will be permitted to stay aboard the Nemesis as long as you don't threaten my rule. If you decide to go to Earth, Soundwave will keep in touch to give you important updates and to ensure you haven't defected to the Autobots."

I nodded, "Thanks Soundwave. I'll sleep off my current state and leave tomorrow."

Soundwave nodded back to me and left. I changed out of my battle armor and into my sleep attire. I looked for a while at the damaged piece of armor next to my mirror. I eventually fell asleep. The next day, I changed, drank energon, said goodbye to Soundwave and left. I scouted for the Lamborghini of my vehicle form. Once I found it, I drove to Jasper.


	2. Master and Student

I drove off the ramp of the highway. This Jasper Nevada was a desolate dustbowl. I drove into town. I had calmed down from yesterday. No matter how hard I tried I could not get two things unstuck from my head: The first was the cruelty of Starscream; the second was the praise of the human children. _I realize that I'm easy to manipulate_. _But, what if I'm correct?_ I drove to the Jasper high school and parked by the main entrance. The high school children fled after their final bell. I saw Arcee park close by, she still looked hurt from the other day. Jack and Miko walked out with a large group of teenagers. As they walked closer, I could hear them talk.

Jack saw Arcee and turned to Miko, "I see Arcee. Do you want a ride?"

Miko answered, "No thanks Jack. Bulkhead will be here later. He probably thought I had detention or something."

Jack waved to his friend, and said; "I'll see you back at the base then."

I had the urge to follow Arcee and Jack back to their base. But, if I did, I'd have to report to Starscream. _Well, I wouldn't have to. If I were a loyal Con, then sure, by all means. But, I don't know,_ I thought, _the Cons just don't seem as alluring without Megatron at their helm. Besides, If I gave the base location to Starscream, he'd probably claim that I found it under his orders, and further/secure his troops' loyalty._ I remained parked.

The wave of teenagers dispersed. Miko sat on the steps and took out her sketchpad. I couldn't see what she was drawing.

In my boredom, I didn't care much for subtly. I asked her, "Miko? What are you drawing?"

The girl jumped. She walked up to me and asked, "Shadow? Is that you?"

"Yes?" I responded.

Miko screamed, "That is so cool!" She jumped up and down. Her speech sped up and she spazzed out, "I can't believe it! It is so cool! I mean you are so cool!"

She calmed down and looked at me. She questioned, "What are you doing here?" Miko gasped, "Are you on a secret Decepticon mission?"

I quickly dashed that thought, "No! Scrap no! I'm here by my own free will. I'm currently taking a break from the Decepticons."

 _Frag. That is probably classified._

"Why?" She asked, "Did something happen?"

I laughed, "Miko, you know exactly what happened. Starscream took command. I cannot stand that coward. I did not want to serve him, so I left."

"Are you ever going to go back?"

"I don't know." I sighed, "I think I will if I can avoid Scream's command."

"If you want, you can join the Autobots. We definitely have room for an awesome bot like you. Even if you are a Con."

"Thanks Miko. To be honest," I paused, "You cannot repeat to anyone what I'm about to say."

Miko promised, "Shadow, I won't repeat it to anyone."

I continued, "Recently I've been having doubts about the Decepticons and thoughts about switching sides."

"Woo!" Miko cheered, "You go Shadow! Who needs those Cons anyway? You can join Bulkhead and me, and we can be one awesome family!"

"Hold on there. You're getting ahead of yourself, Miko. The Decepticons are my family. They've been there for me. It isn't easy to betray them. But..."

 _Betrayal is easy. It's the guilt that's deadly._

Miko squealed, "But what?!"

"I've been off lately. At our last battle, I had many chances to kill both Arcee and Bulkhead. But, I didn't. If it weren't for me, Megatron would still be leading and Starscream wouldn't be."

Miko patted my hood, "There, there Shadow. It's not your fault. But, can you promise me something?"

"What?"

Miko hugged my side mirror and begged, "Don't kill the Autobots!"

I sighed. She was just like Raf. A tiny puppy. "Fine," I said, "This might be my hatred for Starscream talking, so I won't. Can you promise me that if I wanted, you could get me a spot on the Autobots?"

Miko fist pumped the air, "Scrap yeah!"

Bulkhead drove up to the school and honked.

Miko waved, and greeted her friend with a scream, "Hey Bulkhead!"

Bulkhead called back to her, "Miko, keep it down and come over here. Do you want me to get in trouble?"

Miko patted my door, and apologized to her friend, "I'm sorry Bulk. Before I go, could I say goodbye to this car? It's so awesome!"

 _Good._

Bulkhead sighed, "Fine. I'll wait."

Miko turned to me and whispered into my window, "Bye Shadow, I'll see you here tomorrow. Say nothing if you promise to be here."

 _Crafty human. Not pet material: Too self-seeking like Starscream._

I of course said nothing in front of Bulkhead. Miko went over to the bot and the two drove off.

I waited there and listened to music until Bumblebee drove up. The bell rung and Raf ran outside with another group of kids. He noticed me, but said nothing. Raf greeted Bumblebee and the two left. I didn't follow. Instead I drove around town and listened to music. Good music. Once I grew bored, I went to a drive in movie and watched.

I drove to the desert, transformed, and rested next to a rock formation. I received a transmission from Soundwave.

He relayed information; "Skyquake was killed in battle by Optimus, Bumblebee, and Agent Fowler."

I sighed. Skyquake and Dreadwing were friends of mine. I thanked Soundwave, "I am sorry to hear that. Thank you for informing me. Skyquake was a valiant warrior."

Soundwave continued, "Lord Megatron's body was recovered. He is weak, but still alive."

My spark stopped. "Really?" I responded quickly, "That's wonderful news!"

Soundwave repeated himself, "Megatron is weak. We had to put him into stasis."

 _It's bad..._

"Did you get Knockout?"

Soundwave did not answer.

I called out to him, "Hello? Soundwave? You there?"

Soundwave stated, "You are near Jasper Nevada." Silence. "Are you with the Autobots?"

I shook my head, "No. No, I'm not. I was considering looking for their base, but..."

 _His first assumption was that I went back? Does he not really have an ounce of trust in me? Well, how much do I trust that damned fool in command? Soundwave follows him._

Soundwave repeated my answer, "But?"

"It's not important," I answered. "What is important is that Lord Megatron still lives," I paused and thought for a moment, then said, "Tell **Commander** Starscream that I'll return tomorrow. I pledged my loyalty to Megatron, not Starscream. As long as our Lord lives, I have a place by his side."

Soundwave agreed to relay the message. Before he signed off, he told me, "Skyquake said the same thing."

I looked around. It was getting dark. I thought I heard something. I got a running start and transformed into my jet form. As I flew, I saw the three Autobot guardians driving into town. I changed directions and headed towards the rock formations. I found a safe-ish, ledge and landed. I slept there in jet form.

When I woke up, the sun was high in the sky. It was bright, hot, and unpleasant. I flew down and transformed into my car form. I drove through the rocky formations until I hit a road. I drove into Jasper and parked by the school. I stayed there listening to music for a long time. While parked, I heard screams and saw a laser shoot through the roof of the school.

On this day, everyone got out at the same time. As soon as the bell rung, Miko rushed out to greet me. A little after, Raf walked casually to me. Jack didn't come out until later.

Miko put her backpack down and opened it up. She took out a crudely drawn picture. I lowered my window for her to put the picture in. That's what I assumed her intent was. Their guardians would be arriving soon and I didn't want to cause a scene.

Raf walked up. Miko showed my holographic driver the picture.

The girl pointed to the representation of herself in the picture. She stated, "This is me, this is Raf, this is Jack, and this is you." Miko had drawn the picture of herself, Raf and Jack standing by my feet. I was holding one of my swords and the other was put away. My black armor did look as she said 'cool', but personally looked more badass than anything else. I liked that.

Raf commented on his appearance, "Hey Miko! My hair doesn't look like that!"

I complemented the picture, "Miko, I think it looks lovely."

 _I'll put it right on the fridge. Ha! That movie._

Miko put it on my dashboard. She said, "Now you have something to remember us by when you're fighting Starscream."

"Thanks Miko." _If any of the Cons found out, I'd be so fragged._ "Thanks."

Raf said, "If you ever need any help, we're here for you."

"Thank you. This means a lot. Just to make sure though..."

Raf and Miko said in unison, "We won't tell the Autobots or Decepticons."

"Wonderful. Thanks again."

Jack walked out and joined his friends as the Autobots arrived. I rolled up my window. Raf and Miko said "bye." I backed up and drove away.

I passed Arcee and Bulkhead as I drove. I remembered I had a Decepticon symbol instead of a Lamborghini symbol. Not the most covert move. But, neither was being a luxurious black car with crimson trim. Bulkhead noticed this. The Decepticon symbol this. He made an illegal U-turn and followed me. I sped up and he did the same. I couldn't lose him. Not without making a scene. As soon as we got to a clear longer strip of road, I accelerated and transformed into my jet form. I flew off.

I called the Nemesis for coordinates; a vehicon gave them to me. I soared through the clouds. I hoped that I didn't get Miko or Raf in trouble. I hope the Cons wouldn't find me out. Suspicion is deadly you know, and Deception is a rotting currency. The Nemesis came into sight. I landed in the hanger. I transformed and walked to my room. I hid the picture in one of my drawers. Next, I walked to the med bay and found Megatron's room. Soundwave was right: Megatron was weak. It almost hurt me to see him sprawled on the examining berth, connected to all sorts of wires. I sat by his side for a while. I knew he was in stasis, so nothing I did mattered. I just felt bad, like I had betrayed him. Somehow...

I left his side to find Soundwave. Him and Starscream were in the command center. I timidly crept up to the communications officer. He noticed my presence. So did Starscream.

The commander strode up to us. He smugly asked, "Did you see the poor state our dear former leader is in?"

 _Go to the pit, frag-herder._

I turned my head away; I did not want to see Starscream. I countered, "Megatron has been through worse. He will recover."

Starscream jested, "Oh my dear Shadow, you're as hard headed as ever."

I glared at Starscream and disputed, "Hard headed? You don't know me. You don't know a single thing about me. If anything I'm optimistic, not hard headed!"

"Don't know you?" Starscream smiled devilishly, "My, my, Shadow, I know you better than you think."

 _No, you don't._

"You are a pacifistic swordsman, who loves human media and—"

 _I'm going to extinguish your spark._

Soundwave cut off Starscream with Megatron's voice, "That's enough Starscream!"

I missed the sound of his voice.

Soundwave knew me well. Not as well as I did, though. I was just about ready to go in an all out war against the commander, but Soundwave saved me. Treason is treason. Unless I won, and took over. But, then I'd be stuck leading the Cons. Soundwave gestured for me to follow him. He led me back to Lord Megatron's body. I didn't like seeing the state my Lord was in.

Soundwave played a mix of others speech, "Megatron entrusted me with your safety. He cared deeply for you. Far more than you know."

 _Thanks, it's meaningless though. Empty words. Probably untrue._

I looked at Soundwave, then back to Megatron. "I don't like seeing him in this state," I said, "It almost causes me pain."

Soundwave nodded. He and Megatron were the best of friends. He told me, "I concur."

We left the room. I returned to my own, changed and slept. I wasn't hungry.


	3. Scrapheap

Scrapheap

I woke up and got out of bed. I walked to my dresser and took a good look at my battle armor. I probably wasn't going to fight today. My sleep armor was the lightest covering I had. So, because battle armor is heavy and I am lazy, I decided not to change my outfit. I looked at Miko's picture and thought about what Soundwave had said yesterday. I could either be an Autobot or a Decepticon with enhanced freedom. I went over to my mirror. I looked nice in light armor. My gaze then looked to the damaged armor. _Why were the objects in my room telling me to join the Autobots?_ _But, maybe that's just an interpretation: Picture of praise from human, Reminder of pain from Megatron..._ _Seriously? I should probably put those somewhere harder for me or someone else to find._ I walked out of my room and to the cafeteria. I was still not very hungry, so I took a cup to go. I went to the Med Bay to visit Megatron. He was still...

I sighed and spoke, "Hey Megatron. This might not mean anything to you but—"

The monitors' data skyrocketed. I walked over to try and decipher the spiking signals. It seemed that his data core [brain] activity had increased. I sat by his bedside in a chair physicians would use. I placed my cup of energon on a side table.

"Can you hear me?" I asked. The data on the monitor did not go down. I continued, "I may have done some things that cause me to feel guilty. It doesn't matter what." He was silent. "Okay, it was a murder. Of a Vehicon. Which was totally an accident. Okay, not an accident. But, not my fault. Maybe my fault. Definitely my fault." Silence. "He was cybertronian. So are the Autobots, but... I'll shut up." His facial expression didn't change. I felt another wave of guilt. "But anyway, I didn't want you to be alone. So, here I am." I felt stupid and sighed, "I feel really stupid doing this Megatron. It feels like I'm trying to have a conversation, but no one is responding. Almost like I'm talking to myself here."

I stopped, picked up my energon and took a sip. I walked over to the monitors and waited. I waited and waited and drank some energon and then waited some more. Prolonged silence caused the data to lower and return to an almost nonexistent state.

I started talking again, "Megatron, I have a question for you, and I kind of care if you answer. Does this -me talking- affect your brain activity?" The data rose again.

I concluded that Megatron's mental state could be better than I had originally thought. I sat back down and drank some more energon, before putting it back down.

I asked him, "Do you remember when we came to the Nemesis last? It happened quite recently. I'm referring to the time we ate together and talked about old times. We agreed that we'd pick it up later, but later never came. So, now I'm sitting here and I was just thinking, why not now? So, we were talking about the war and possibly exchanging stories. You know me; my memory isn't always the best. But, anyway, I have a story for you. I just have to remember a good one first."

I got up, drank some energon and paced. I wanted to tell a good one: Regardless if he heard me or not. But, I was having trouble remembering anything at all. Isolating a single drop of history in the stream of my consciousness was a task not often attempted: Even less often successful. Then it hit me. I sat back down and put down the energon.

"So, this battle doesn't exactly have a name. For us I mean: the Autobots called it the battle of Sraken-Trek. We didn't give it a name. You sent your Warriors Elite, where I was at the time, to go retrieve some Autobot device. We had journeyed far into Autobot territory, maybe three days of cautious travel. This is the old unit, you know, when you had a bunch and could afford to split us up. So my unit, we were tired, we found covered land. Land out of the line of sight, to sleep. We all awoke to the sound of movement. The Autobots had boxed us in with one way out, forward. We stayed out of sight and trekked forward. It turned out we were being led into a trap. We reached a dead end- a large walled cliff that was plateaued at the top- the Autobots had us completely surrounded. They were behind us, to the left, right, and atop the ledge. Two of our own, Sixshot and Overlord, laid down cover fire. I sprinted toward the right Autobot battalion. It was fairly early, not much sunlight. Anyway the Autobots had us outnumbered 10:1. So, I did what I knew how too. I slashed the Autobots down before they saw me coming. I ran and dodged and slashed. Each of my moves was very precise, very accurate. The sun was behind us, so the first and last thing the Autobots saw was my Shadow. Anyway, I took down the right battalion very quickly. I think my seven comrades had taken out the top group by then. Anyway, I used a dead Autobot as a throw shield and rushed the middle group. That one fell too. My comrades had taken out the left group. They were slow. Early morning. Those Autobot battalions guarded the territory line. Because of their fall, our troops pushed further, our territory grew and the Autobots territory receded. We didn't give it a name because it wasn't any objective, we didn't gain anything. It just was. On the other hand, the Autobots later captured one from our team you know the one. The one who was extremely social and hid behind his guns and massive shield? Dreadwing and Skyquake hated that guy. Skyquake's dead by the way. So anyway, he-who-shall-not-be-named told the Autobots about the battle during an interrogation, which solidified my nickname to them. Personally, I prefer Shadow. It's shorter and less like a title. But you know the Space Gangster's stance on that."

I caught my breath and finished off my energon.

"If you want, I could tell you another story tomorrow. But, how would I know what it is you want? I'll come tomorrow anyway. If for no other reason than to keep you company, I'll come."

I got up grabbed the empty cup of energon and looked at Megatron. I grabbed his servo with my empty one.

"Goodbye Megatron," I whispered, "I'll see you tomorrow."

I let go and left. I deposited the empty cup in the cafeteria. Many vehicons were consuming energon at this time. I walked to the command center. Everywhere I went mechs stared longer than usual. I walked inside the command center. Everyone was at his post. I went to Soundwave.

"Hello Soundwave," I greeted the mech, "Anything interesting happen?"

Soundwave pulled up a picture of a crashed pod in Antarctica. He explained, "This pod was a trap containing scraplets. It landed it Antarctica. The Autobots bridged it to their base. What have you been up to?"

 _Quick transition. Motives?_

"I was in the med bay, talking to Megatron. I feel hopeful he'll recover. I noticed that when I talked, his 'brain' activity rose."

"Really? What did you talk about?"

"I mainly reminisced about the war."

Starscream walked over. He examined my body in depth. A simply up and down glance would be an understatement. He flirted, "Wow Shadow. Light armor really looks good on you." Or, at least I considered that flirting. He never compliments me. He leaned closer and quietly asked, "How about we both take a break from all of this work. You can come undertake more private matters with me on my berth."

I clenched my fist. Starscream crept closer to me. Soundwave could hear every word. I wanted nothing more than Starscream's destruction. I could tell Soundwave was about to cut in. I wanted instead to hurt Starscream's pride. Consolation. I put a hand on Soundwave's arm to get him to back off. I then took a step backward and addressed Starscream.

I teased, "I'm sorry, but I don't take orders from a commander."

 _I half-expected for him to lunge or fire. I could deflect, dodge, or redirect a missile. I would end him if he attempted to lunge._

Starscream squinted his optics and straightened up. He angrily threatened, "A Decepticon that will not follow orders will not face the Autobots in battle!"

I smiled, "I'm wearing light armor dimwit. I wasn't planning on going into battle anyway."

Starscream glared at me. He shouted, "Oh really Shadow! Well I, Lord Starscream order you to—"

Like yesterday, Soundwave cut off the commander. He stepped towards Starscream and relayed information, "Shadow is an agent of Megatron's task force. Only Lord Megatron can give direct orders that need to be followed."

I silently cheered. Starscream growled and stomped away in rage.

 _Best day ever._

Soundwave brought up some document on a monitor. Knockout had been contacted. The document was a project Knockout was assigned by Starscream to do. Starscream wanted more highly skilled soldiers. Knockout was close to completing a formula that changed humans into transformers. It seemed that Knockout needed a transformer that had both a flight and a ground alt. form to base a final part of the formula on. Because I was a natural triple-changer, Soundwave thought that I should help.

I looked over the document. Soundwave changed documents. It seemed that test subjects had been found. Knockout wanted to complete this final part of his experiment. The deal that had been worked out was that Knockout would come here and stay on board, if he could base the final component of the formula on me.

I nodded. Soundwave understood and contacted Knockout to accept the terms of the deal.

I left the command center and headed out to the hanger. I flew down to a scenic part of earth and changed into my car mode. I touched the ground and drove until sunset. I admired the beauty of the world and the music I listened to. When it grew late, I flew back to the Nemesis and returned to my room. I laid down on my berth and slept.


	4. Con Job

Con Job

It had been a week since I came back to the Nemesis. Each day was more or less the same. I'd tell Megatron a story from the war, I'd check in at the command center, and I'd go out for a scenic drive and or flight.

This evening, I was hanging out in the command center with the commander. We were talking about the many different energon mines and possible future actions.

Soundwave walked up to us and played an intercepted Autobot transmission, "Wheeljack? What are you doing all the way out here? Bulkhead? That you? What's with all the security? The rock we're on is crawling with cons. It's good to have you down here to even the odds. I'll likely see you tomorrow. I'll have to put pedal to the metal."

Starscream asked, "A war hero hmm? We haven't much time. Makeshift!"

Soundwave's tentacle reached out and locked into Makeshift's data port. Soundwave downloaded Wheeljack's appearance into Makeshifts hard drive. Makeshift transformed.

Soundwave replayed a part of the message, "This rock's crawling with cons. I'll likely see you tomorrow. I'll have to put pedal to the metal. See you soon buddy. I'll make sure you get a proper welcome."

Starscream said, "I too know how to prepare a proper welcome."

I asked him, "What do you have in mind?"

He turned to me and said, "Tomorrow, vehicons will shoot down the Autobot's ship. Next we will capture Wheeljack and replace him with Makeshift. To make it look convincing, Makeshift should kill some vehicons."

"That's cruel." I said hypocritically.

Starscream didn't care. He just replied, "Vehicons? They're nothing."

I left the command center, in a rage. Vehicons were not nothing. They were as alive as the rest of us. They were only more drone-like. I walked down the long and dark corridors to my room. I changed armor and got into what the humans called a bed. I slept.

...

When I woke up, I got up immediately. I knew I was on a time limit. I couldn't trust the Vehicons to capture Wheeljack. Actually, I was excited. I wanted to face the Wrecker.

I went to the cafeteria and drank a cup of energon. Then, I went to the Med Bay. I sat down next to Megatron.

I spoke, "So, where were we? Let's see... Kaon? No," I tapped my finger against my leg. I tried again, "Hmm. The item? No, I don't' think I told you that one yet. So, we were tracking this group of Autobots, right. We had been on their trail for a few days. Remember why? We just blew their base and they were scattering. We checked out each group, except for one. My comrades had thought if we've searched all except for one, then this one must have it, right? Well, I thought for a moment and considered the possibility we had overlooked something. So, I argued with my group and we decided to go our separate ways. They all died by the way. Sixshot called them wimps when I gave him, Overlord, and Sky Shadow the news. That one group we were tracking was a trap. The Autobots were orchestrating all of it. Anyways, I left and backtracked all the way to the destroyed base. I noticed there was this hidden area that had been reopened. So I followed that trail to this forest like area: Tons of overgrowth and obstructions. This meant that I could not retreat by either of my alternate modes. I ended up following the trail right to a hidden Autobot base. I staked it out for a day to understand the shifts. Then I struck. I crept silently and ended any Autobot that had the misfortune of running into me. I snuck through the base until I found a vault. I lined the door of the vault with some makeshift pyrotechnics. I set them off and hid around a corner. The explosives didn't open the vault, but it looked as if they did. Autobots rushed the area and opened the vault to see if their item had been stolen. As soon as that happened, I sprinted in, grabbed the special object, and ran. I must have extinguished fifteen sparks as I exited. To get away from the Autobots, I climbed one of the tall trees and hopped from branch to branch, until I was safe." Quick story over, I got up and walked to the door. I called out to my friend, "Goodbye Megatron."

I walked to the command center. Starscream and Soundwave were preparing for the Autobot. The ship was about to reach orbit.

Starscream called out to his troops, "Go and shoot down that ship!"

I walked up to Starscream and Soundwave. They were watching everything on this one monitor. The ship crashed. Makeshift joined our watching party. We all watched Wheeljack fight on the monitor. I loved his sword combat style. Personally, after watching him in battle, I felt like applauding or high fiving the mech.

Starscream ordered, "Swiftly, before the Autobots arrive."

Soundwave opened a spacebridge. As Makeshift and I ran through, I activated my facemask and drew my swords. The portal put us right into the action.

Wheeljack was occupied with some vehicons. I ran at him from behind. He saw me coming. I dodged his surprise slash and slid right past him. Dust rose in my wake. I stopped and sprinted towards him. I was able to strike one of his sword arms before he turned around. He slashed again. I ducked under his blade and uppercut his other arm with my sword. With both of his arms hurt, I struck his chest. Wheeljack fell backward. A vehicon fired at the still target. Wheeljack blacked out. I carried him through the portal.

Once back on the Nemesis, two vehicons left to restrain Wheeljack in an interrogation room.

Starscream continued to watch the screen. I put away my swords and retracted my mask. He wanted to make sure Makeshift entered the portal to the Autobot base. Once that was certain, the three of us left to greet Wheeljack in an interrogation room.

Starscream complained as he walked, "The moment Makeshift went through their ground bridge, we lost his tracking signal. The Autobot base is no doubt heavily shielded to prevent us from locating it," Starscream closed his fist. He sighed annoyed, "No matter. I have complete faith in Makeshift."

We reached the doors to the interrogation room.

Starscream celebrated, "Our inside man is already inside."

We walked inside.

Wheeljack looked up. He said, "Tell Megatron he's fragged in the head if he thinks Bulkhead won't sniff out an imposter."

Starscream walked up to Wheeljack and groaned, "Haven't you heard? I lead the Decepticons now!"

I covered my mouth with my servo to conceal my mirth. I found it hilarious whenever Starscream tried to claim he has taken control. Soundwave thinks this bliss is a mask to conceal my anger. But not now, now I wanted to see Screamy pay for his last sentence. Be it from my disrespect or Wheeljack's.

Wheeljack leaned his head forward and questioned, "You? Hah!"

 _I couldn't agree more._

I couldn't hide it any longer. I was laughing too much to not have it be noticeable. I closed my eyes and cupped one of my servos over my mouth. I bent over and placed my other servo on my leg for support. Maybe it was just my hatred for Starscream, but I truly believed that this Wheeljack was funnier than Agent Fowler. I had the feeling that if this were how would I act at interrogations, the commander would eventually ban me from all of them.

Starscream closed both fists and raised them in anger. He screamed, "Ahhhh!" Starscream swung his arms through the air. Soundwave held back one of them. Starscream agreed, "Yes, he may still be of use. Makeshift is very good at keeping up appearances. He need only fool your friends long enough to open their ground bridge from within. So that I may finally learn the location of the Autobot base and send in my strike team to stain its floor with the spilled energon of Optimus Prime!"

 _Nope. Only Megatron is allowed to do that._

Starscream and Soundwave turned and left. I looked at Wheeljack for a moment.

Starscream called, "Death's Shadow? Are you coming?"

 _F*cking disrespectful fool. Just asking to be betrayed._

I followed my comrades. I went to the cafeteria and grabbed another cup of energon. I returned to the interrogation room. A vehicon was guarding Wheeljack.

I ordered him to, "Leave us."

The vehicon complied. The door shut behind him. I took some steps towards Wheeljack.

"What's a pretty gal like you doing with the Decepticons?"

 _He called me pretty._

I smiled and offered him the energon, "Here," I brought the cup towards his face.

"Why are you doing this?" The Autobot questioned, "Is this a Decepticon trick?"

I shook my head, "No trick. I just thought you might be tired from your ship crash and all that. Besides, I have no Idea what your supplies on ship were or when the last time you had a meal was."

Wheeljack said, "Thank you ma'am. Pretty and kind: the Decepticons don't deserve a gal like you."

 _He's manipulating me._

I smiled again. I raised the energon to his mouth. Wheeljack drank. When he was done I put the cup on the ground and walked behind him.

Wheeljack turned his head and asked me, "What are you up to?"

I answered happily, "It's rare to see another warrior class who uses swords... Sorry, I was just overly excited earlier. I really wanted to meet you."

"See something you like? If you do you can examine me all day."

I laughed and walked around to the Wrecker's front. _Now, serious._ I addressed the Wrecker, "Wheeljack," I didn't know what to say.

He replied, "Yes miss?"

"You do realize that I'm a Decepticon, you're an Autobot and we're both in an interrogation room, right?"

"So then, what should I ask you?"

I laughed. "Wheeljack, you're funny. I especially loved your insult to Starscream."

Wheeljack raised an eyebrow and toyed, "That's just one side of me. You should see the rest. You might like it."

I smiled and shook my head, "Wheeljack," I took a breath and calmed down. I said calmly, "Let's get back to business."

Wheeljack squinted his eyes and said, "I'm not selling out my comrades. So you can just forget about furthering your Decepticon agenda."

I looked at Wheeljack, "That wasn't my intent at all. We need to create a plan in which you can get free and stop Starscream's scheme."

Wheeljack was surprised. "Why?" He asked, "Why would you do that?"

"Starscream has been scrap lately. He's done some questionable things recently; among them he wants to claim control of the Decepticons. I just want to stop him."

Wheeljack questioned my strategy, "How will helping me get free stop Starscream?"

I looked at Wheeljack and explained, "If you get free, you can get back to the Autobots and stop this plan with Makeshift. Starscream won't get the location of the base and this will be another failure on Starscream's record."

Wheeljack nodded, "Wait," he questioned, "but, don't you want to know the location of the Autobot base? I mean: you are a Decepticon."

I rubbed the back of my neck and admitted, "Well, I kind of already know the location of their base. I don't plan on doing anything with the Intel, I just don't want Starscream to find out."

Wheeljack looked at me wide eyed and stated, "You might just be the sweetest dang Decepticon gal that I ever met."

I blushed and looked away. I said, "So, back to the plan."

Wheeljack remembered, "Oh right. You have any ideas?"

I looked back at Wheeljack and stated, "I have one. When I leave, a vehicon will come in here to guard you. You can goad him into getting close to you, and then use your legs to grab him. The vehicon will probably fire at you, so you can get him to aim at that box," I pointed at the power box for the restraints, "If the power box gets hit, the restraints will turn off and you are free."

Wheeljack flirted, "If you were closer, I'd kiss that smart mouth of yours."

I picked up the cup of energon and walked toward the door. I turned around and saluted Wheeljack, "Goodbye Wheeljack, and good luck."

Wheeljack replied, "I hope we meet again. By the way I'm serious when I say that Sweetspark."

I walked out of the room. I told the vehicon outside, "I have all the information I need. You can go in and guard him now."

I went to the command center and waited... Starscream stormed angrily in. I knew his plan failed.

To make sure, I asked, "Screamy, where's the base at?"

Starscream yelled, "In some abandoned bunker near I don't know where!"

 _Jasper Nevada. Are you really so dumb that... Whatever. He's not worth my time._

I left the command center and flew down to the crash site. I transformed and crept stealthily to the ship. I heard movement. In a moment, I felt someone behind me holding a sword to my neck.

 _How the hell did he do that? Did he take lessons from Ghost?_

Wheeljack whispered in my audio receptor, "Hey there, Sweetspark." He put away his swords. "We should probably keep it down, Ratchet is in my ship helping me repair it." Wheeljack put his arms around my waist and asked, "What are you doing here?"

I turned and faced Wheeljack. He put his arms down. I told him, "I came here to make sure you were alright."

Wheeljack leaned in and whispered, "This may just be a spur of a moment thing, but I really like you and..." Wheeljack kissed me. I kissed him in return. Wheeljack asked, "Do you like me back?"

I took a step back and answered, "Yes—" Wheeljack cut me off with an embrace. I pushed away. I said, "Wheeljack, you're an Autobot and I'm a Decepticon. It would never work out between us."

Wheeljack cupped my chin with his servo and lifted my head. He avowed, "Sweetspark, I am leaving tonight. How about when I get back we talk about it. I know how I feel about you Shadow, and I don't want to give up on you just yet."

 _So, you do know who I am..._

"You really shouldn't say things like that."

"But I will anyway."

"Trust me Wheeljack. We wouldn't work out."

"You're you and I'm me. Why couldn't we be?"

"Now you're just wasting time."

"But that's the name of the game, Sweetspark. Wasting time 'till we all rust and fall apart."

"Listen Wheeljack. I'll entertain the possibility of an allyship, but past that—"

"That's good enough for me. Ally one day, friend the next. Scrap, only Primus knows where that could lead."

Wheeljack walked back to his ship. I transformed and flew back to mine. I went straight to my room. I could only think. _I was definitely attracted to Wheeljack, past that I felt a connection. But, that's not enough to betray the cons. Okay, I hadn't been the most loyal Decepticon. I disobeyed Starscream, I saved the Autobot's pets by killing a vehicon, I kept information from Starscream, I ruined Starscream's plan, I fraternized with the humans, I kissed and have feelings for an Autobot, and probably other things that I don't remember. Besides all that, there's the stuff I did before the war. No? No. That won't count. They'd never find out. Labels me an Autobot though... But, as for now, I am not the best Decepticon... that is for sure._


	5. Convoy

Convoy

Over the past week, Soundwave has been showing me the ropes of communications. Today was testing. _I hate testing. Evaluation is always negative: I don't represent myself well._ I was at a human outpost. My goal: to intercept a transmission and to send the interception to the Nemesis. Soundwave thought this would be a useful tool. If I were ever stranded, he wanted to make sure that I could find a way to communicate with the base. Similarly, he wanted me to be able to intercept information as to not walk into any traps. Today I wanted to blow Soundwave out of the water. I wanted to intercept an Autobot message.

At a human outpost, I reconfigured a regular human communications device into an awesome communications-intercepting device and high-powered sending device. I locked onto the Autobot's frequency and waited. The Autobots received a call from Agent Fowler. I recorded every piece of data I found interesting.

This included Agent Fowler saying, "Tried to smash and grab for the Dingus. Dynamic Nuclear Generation System AKA DNGS... It's a Prototype energy source... meltdown it would irradiate this state and the four next door."

Next, I locked onto a specific frequency on the Nemesis's channel to open a communication link with Soundwave's work monitor. I sent the intercepted message.

Soundwave responded, "Test successful. You have passed."

I asked the communications officer, "Do you think I could go and steal this device? It could be one frag of a weapon and distraction or threat."

Soundwave denied my request, "The DNGS would be too dangerous to keep on board. You should not retrieve it."

I requested, "If I can't retrieve it, can I at least see where it is being stored? If we did want to use it in the future, we would be able to go get it."

Soundwave repeated parts of my question "see where it is being stored."

"Thank you Soundwave! I'll tell you about my findings back on the Nemesis."

I destroyed my communications device. I did not want humans to use it or check its history. Once the device was rubble, I flew to Agent Fowler's position. He moved the DNGS into... The Autobots had formed a convoy. The device was being transported in Prime's trailer. I laughed to myself. Bulkhead had seen my car form and everyone else had seen my jet form. There was no way for me to be stealthy. I decided to trail the group in my car form from a distance. By the Allspark, they were slow.

A helicopter passed me and flew above the convoy. Next, special sports cars passed in front of me. These four green bastards with black stripes sandwiched Bulkhead. I felt like knocking them the frag out. I sped up and tried to remain out of sight. One of the green cars moved in front of prime, and out of my sight. Another drove along side Prime. A human popped out and wielded a gun. The armed human fired at Prime. I sped up to the group and rammed those bastards off the road. Only Megatron was aloud to take out Prime. Bumblebee rammed one of the assailants. The car flipped. We entered a windy steep curved area. I drove ahead, when I was out of sight, I transformed into my jet form. Bad luck for me, I wasn't the only one who drove ahead. A speedy gold racecar with red stripes and black detail called her teammates. I circled back around and trailed the helicopter. If I had guns, I would have shot the d*mned scrapheap down. One of the humans climbed from a car into Prime's trailer hitch. Optimus pushed the car off of the cliff. _Ouch._ Agent Fowler stepped out of Prime's cabin and went to deal with the armed human on the connector of Prime's trailer. Fowler held the human out in the open. A tree hit the human and Fowler let him go. Fowler returned to Optimus' cabin.

The helicopter flew closer to the caravan. I pulled up beside it. A human in the green car behind Prime's trailer popped out of the sunroof. He fired some devices from a gun at the trailer's door lock. Some sort of electricity came out of the device and disabled the lock. The trailer door opened. I would have to warn Soundwave of this weapon. Arcee drove out of the trailer and attacked the human and the car he was in. The green car flipped. A tailgating enemy car hit it and exploded. This was getting intense.

I received a transmission from Soundwave, "Vehicons on the way with orders to scrap the Autobots."

"Thanks for the Intel Soundwave. You would not believe what's going on here. I'll tell you later." I ended the transmission.

We continued for a while. Striker scouted out infront for a good escape route. Optimus followed her, Bulkhed and Bumblebee on Prime's sides, and Arcee behind. More green cars appeared. I dropped back out of sight and changed into my car form. I then sped and trailed the enemy vehicles. About five miles later we came across train tracks. The Autobots drove onto these. The green cars followed, against my better judgment, so did I.

A train raced down its track. I followed stealthily behind this train. Bulkhead dropped back, transformed and shot at the tunnel. The entrance closed in front of the green cars. I heard movement and guessed the Autobots had put the item on this train.

"Hey Soundwave." I called the communications officer; "I think the Autobots have put their DNGS on this train. Can you please track the train? I really don't want to miss the action."

 _Selfish._

Soundwave accepted my request. He retransmitted my signal, "I... will... track the train".

"Thank you again Soundwave! You are the best!" I signed off.

We exited the tunnels. We all drove back onto the road. I think Bulkhead might have noticed me. The vehicons had arrived. I saw some fly up beside the helicopter. They accelerated forward, and then fired missiles at the Autobots. I backed up. If one of those missiles took out Optimus, I would have a falling out with Starscream. The missiles disconnected the trailer and blew it up. I drove around the explosion. The vehicons flew ahead, transformed and landed in front of the Autobots. They were cut off. The Autobots were. I transformed as well. The Autobots could not escape. Optimus and his team transformed. The helicopter flew back and watched.

 _D*mned spectators._

Optimus put Agent Fowler down on a rock. He scolded the gold one, something about backup and protecting teammates, then left her to guard the human. It seemed that the Autobots had forgotten about me. They certainly could have used the extra manpower. They ran at the vehicons. I activated my mask and drew my swords.

I snuck up behind Bumblebee. I slashed at the back of his legs. The scout fell. Vehicons shot at the fallen target. Bulkhead ran at me with his wrecking ball. I dodged. His hit smashed into Bumblebee. I laughed. Bumblebee shot at my feet. I hopped from left to right and vice versa, dodging the lasers. I put my swords together. I ran up to Bulkhead and uppercut his head. He fell backwards. Bumblebee got up and protected his friend. Bumblebee continued to shoot at me. I used my swords to deflect the laser shots. Bulkhead was having trouble standing back up. I sprinted at Bumblebee and high jump kicked him into Bulkhead. Both Autobots fell. Arcee shot at my back. My armor absorbed the blow, but I was propelled away from her comrades. I was growing tired. These Autobots protected each other. Oppositely, the vehicons fought alone, like me. I would have to bring this up with Starscream. Bumblebee got up and helped up Bulkhead. Arcee continued to fire at me. I rushed the femme. She dodged. In this moment, Arcee was faster than I. She pointed her laser canon at me. I used one of my swords to push her gun away. It fired and hit a tree. I used my other sword to propel the femme backward. In this moment of not being attacked I looked up at the helicopter. I felt like I was being watched. I knew I was, I just felt it now more than before. While I was distracted, Bulkhead threw a vehicon at me. A freakin' vehicon. I held up my swords and braced for the hit. The vehicon fell. It was dead before it even reached me. Absorbing the hit took my focus. Laser fire blew me paces across the battlefield, from Striker's position. Vehicons attacked Fowler, shows her right. I shook my head, got up, and I ran back at Bulkhead. I ducked under his spiked ball swing. I slashed his swinging arm. Bulkhead cringed in pain. A vehicon shot at the still target. Vehicons occupied Arcee, Bumblebee, Striker and now Bulkhead's attention.

The helicopter left. I noticed that Optimus ran after it. I took a running start, transformed into my jet form and followed the Prime. His prey landed on top of the train. Optimus transformed into his truck form and pulled up alongside the speeding locomotive. The helicopter detached from the train and retreated. Seconds later, the human-filled flying piece of scrap fired a missile at the tracks ahead. A large explosion engulfed the air and left a crater where tracks once stood.

Optimus sped up and transformed in front of the train. His back was against the train's front car/engine; he was pushing his peds into the ground to try and slow the train down. Optimus couldn't do it alone. I went to the front of the train, transformed, and copied Optimus in order to help slow down the locomotive. Sparks from the friction attacked our feet. This was painful, but we persevered. The train slowed down dramatically. The crater was approaching quickly. The train's speed dropped to almost nothing. Optimus and I stopped the train feet before the crater.

The helicopter returned. I took a few steps away from the front of the train and stared at it. The chopper hovered for a few seconds. Through my mask, I saw the helicopter scan Optimus with some sort of beam. I drew one of my swords. The helicopter turned around and began to retreat. I didn't want the humans to think they could get away with their actions. If that DNGS melted down, it would have killed all of us and countless other creatures. The helicopter was almost out of sight. I threw my sword at it: A direct hit. A smoke trail followed the chopper as it fell out of the sky and out of my sight.

I retracted my mask and took a breath of fresh air. Miko and Jack left the train and ran out to Optimus. I didn't even know that they were in there. I was glad that they weren't killed in any of that.

I was receiving a transmission from Soundwave. I put a finger up to my audio processor to listen best.

Shadow," Soundwave notified me, "the train has stopped moving."

I responded sarcastically, "Really Soundwave? The train stopped? I had no Idea." Jack and Miko smiled at my response. I felt bad. Soundwave had no idea that the train almost killed me as I helped stop it. I sighed and apologized, "Sorry Soundwave. That sarcasm was uncalled for."

Soundwave brushed off my words, he asked, "How did the mission go?"

I looked over my shoulder at the battlefield, "I'm pretty sure whatever Starscream set out to accomplish failed. I think all the vehicons are dead."

"Do you have anything else for me before I report to Starscream?"

I thought for a moment, "Yeah one thing. So, there is this enemy chopper I forced down a little ways from here and the humans on this chopper possess this one gun that fires devices that can disable technology. Should I follow?"

Soundwave thought I was being sarcastic again. He said plainly, "No. It is fine. There is no need to follow..." Silence, then he asked, "Without guns, how did you manage to bring down the enemy helicopter?"

I looked over at the smoke coming from the crash site. "I threw a sword at the helicopter."

Soundwave was surprised. "You threw a sword? Why!"

"I believe the human saying is 'it's the thought that counts'. I thought that by personally propelling a sharp metal object at another fast receding object without the use of an aiming mechanism, I would best get across my point."

Optimus chuckled. Jack and Miko fell down laughing.

Soundwave sighed, "What was your point?"

I squinted my eyes and tried to make my voice as serious as possible. In a bad a** way I said, "My point was that you don't frag with cybertronians."

The kids were dying of laughter. Optimus' chuckle grew into all out laughter as well. The sound caught a memory too distant for capture.

Soundwave acknowledged my point, "Fine. We should debrief as soon as you get back. Soundwave signing off."

"See you later Soundwave." I ended my transmission and removed my finger from my audio processor. I laughed to myself and shook my head.

Miko and Jack walked closer to me. Optimus stepped in front of them as to ensure their protection... from me.

Optimus asked me in the most boring of tones Primes used, "Shadow of Death," he said, "why did you help me? We are enemies."

I responded casually, "If the train had derailed, the DNGS would have melted down and we'd all have died. If any Decepticon asks, it was for self-preservation."

Optimus took a step closer. He pointed out a whole in my logic. He said, "Shadow of Death, you could have flown away to safety. There was no need for you to help me."

I chose not to respond to the Prime's statement. I stared at Jack and Miko. I hoped by the Allspark that they wouldn't speak up.

I looked back at Prime and saluted the Autobot. I quickly said, "Well Optimus, I can't say it wasn't fun. But, I have a sword to retrieve." I took a running start and transformed into my jet form. I was trying to think of a good excuse and consequently, I was not paying attention to my surroundings. Arcee, Striker, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee shot at me. I was hit. I managed to glide down to my sword.

I transformed and landed. I picked up my sword. The Autobots had caught up. Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Striker, and Arcee transformed and pointed their guns at me. I put the sword back in its holster. I looked at the four Autobots. They were tired and weak, at least two of them were. I could have easily taken down at least one of them, even with the other three attacking me. But, I was tired and did not feel like fighting. I put my servos out in front of me, making a 'stop' gesture.

I calmly said, "Autobots, I have no quarrel with you. Allow me to pass. I do not wish to fight any of you."

Optimus drove to us. Miko and Jack got out.

Arcee screamed, "Did Cliffjumper ever ask to fight? Do you know what you cons did to him? You killed him!"

 _I also saved the gold one. You don't know scrap._

Bulkhead shouted, "Let's make a statement to the cons! They kill one of us: we kill one of them! There shall be no survivors."

My spark broke. I roared, "One? One!" I pointed to the battlefield. "Do those lives not count? Are you really extinguishing all of these sparks just for revenge?!"

The Autobots were silent. They were frozen from my response.

 _Good._

I shrugged and glared at Arcee and Bulkhead. I stated disappointedly, "I thought you Autobots fought for justice and freedom. Honestly I'm disappointed in you. You dropped your ideals, left them somewhere in the past." _Like I did._ "Those who seek revenge are the worst kind of scrap. They destroy everything. They alienate themselves from everything and everyone they once cared about. Worst of all, they find it." _Revenge I meant. They find the revenge they lost everything in trying to get it._ I took my swords out of their holsters and threw them on the ground in front of my feet. I shouted, "Go ahead and shoot you fragged fools. I would rather die than make peace with such despicable murderers. Do you even feel remorse for those you slay? Or is it all just a blur, an endless hunger that can never be satisfied!"

Arcee stared at me for a while. She looked hurt. As if my words had actually gotten to her. I felt like Striker knew it was true. She was spared, even if it was originally a mistake. Bulkhead looked more sad than hurt. Bumblebee held his throat, which Megatron damaged. Optimus had transformed and appeared to be taken back. He did not expect me to say such things about the value of life and the evilness of revenge. I guess he really didn't recognize me. It's not like he resembled that much of his old self anyway. Arcee and her comrades lowered their weapons. I looked back at the humans. They noticed. Miko walked up to the sword closest to her.

She looked up at me, "Do you care about those you have killed with this sword?"

I looked down at the human and spoke, "Every time I go into battle."

Miko walked over to the pointed edge of the sword. She looked at the energon that stained the blade. I didn't want to look at it. She asked, "If you really care, then when do you extinguish another bots spark?"

 _Heightened vocabulary. Death._

"Only when it is a direct order," I said, "or when my spark or another's life depends on it."

The girl ran her hand along the edge of my blade. I cringed. I bent over and checked on the human. I said with worry on my tongue, "If you aren't careful, you are going to hurt yourself."

Miko put her hands on her hips and looked at me. She said, "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. I won't hurt myself on your cool sword."

The corner of my mouth perked. I picked up both swords and put them back in my holsters. I transformed into my vehicle form.

Optimus said, "Shadow of Death," he paused, "if you want," he said, "There is a place for you among us," He gestured to the Bots, "On our team."

Miko jumped up and down. She yelled, "Yes! That would be so cool! Come on Shadow! Take the offer!"

Momentary stillness. I looked down. "I'm sorry. But, I can't. If someone didn't keep Starscream in check, he'd go mad with power and destroy the eastern seaboard. Probably kill off cybertronians in the action. I appreciate the offer, but I cannot accept."

Optimus understood, "The offer stands incase your mind changes in the future," he said. Prime told his Autobots, "Allow the Shadow of Death to pass. She means us no harm."

 _Hahaha ha. The Shadow of Death means you no harm. Ha._

Bulkhead and Arcee moved to the side. I now had a clear path to the road. I drove away. I noticed that Jack and Miko were waving behind me. I called Soundwave and requested a groundbridge back to base. Optimus was much nicer than Megatron depicted, much more of a leader than Orion ever could have dreamed. I could sense that all the Autobots, deep down shared remorse. Even if it was just a spark. They were different than what I had been told, and what I still remember.

Soundwave created a portal and I drove through. I debriefed with him and walked to the Med Bay. I sat down.

"Megatron," I said. "I had a thought that I wanted to say out loud. Optimus is different. He's much nicer than you depicted, and much more of a leader than Orion could have ever dreamed. As far as different goes, the Autobots are different than what I have been told and what I still remember." I paused. "Sometimes I just need to assess my priorities. I would never do this here, with you, while you are awake. But now, I have no idea what you actually will retain. I don't know. I just have to get some things straight in my mind. I think Optimus is good and the other Autobot's have potential for the same good. I don't want to kill them. I released certain information to their human pets that I probably shouldn't have. Overall, I am not being the best Decepticon. Not with you gone. With you... things were different. I followed orders. Why? I don't know. Honestly my ideals side more with the Autobots, but somehow I stayed here, with you. By your side. As I am now. I can't exactly explain why. I know it runs deeper than any life debt. So, yeah. I fought for you, beside you. I am here now. I guess I kind of regret taking my position. For your information, I could have defected. Today, I could have rejoined the Autobots. But, I didn't want to. I could make up a million different reasons, but at the end of the day, I am here by your side. I guess I just wanted to say that. I am here with you. I don't have to be. I probably shouldn't be. I mean, if you knew me before the war, you would wonder why I am even here. I don't know... Sometimes I think I've made a mistake. That I've left my moral conscience behind... And, I don't know if that's true or not. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. All I know, is that as far back I can remember, I feel as if I remember you. Maybe that's just me. Maybe that's just my awful memory. I don't know. But, right here, right now, I am here with you. I guess I just wanted to say that. I can't tell you why, just that I am. I am and I don't think I should be. But still, I am, and I feel guilty for it."


	6. Deus Ex Machina

Deus Ex Machina

I sat down next to Megatron. I had stopped counting the amount of stories I told. I just knew that I've been coming here every day to comfort my friend. I asked my still friend, "The very beginning right?" I sighed and recollected, "This was while Alpha Trion led the Autobots: after Optimus became a Prime and before you fully led the Decepticons. I was an Autobot scout. We were sent into the front lines to be used as cannon fodder. My commander had forsaken my battalion and my comrades had abandoned me. I was alone and doomed. My comrades died while attempting to leave me and flee. One by one the battalion fell, but not me. I was taking down cons faster than they could be replaced. Slashing them down and quickly running to the next. As a scout I trained for speed. Of course, as you know, in age I was almost in the warrior class. You remember the ceremony we had later? I'll tell it another day. I'm getting off track. So, the barricade of cannons was piling Autobot bodies everywhere around me. There were many, almost innumerable cannons and the barrage of cannon fire was deafening. The Decepticons had taken control of one of the main armories on Cybertron. The Autobots were trying to reclaim it. I knew it wouldn't make much of a difference, but I decided to take down a cannon. I ran at it while it charged. Once it fired, I jumped out of the way and avoided the blast. I sprinted closer and chopped off the barrel. I retreated some. The Decepticons tried to use it to fire. The cannon exploded, taking out many around it. I had created a path for my teammates to slip through. But that did not matter. They were mostly dead. My unit was just one of many in a battalion and the battalion was just one of many waves sent to die. If we survived the cannons our orders were to advance and storm the compound. But, past the cannons lied an entirely different kind of hell. A wall of heavy soldiers stood between me and my goal. I was tired. The tank-like Decepticons shot at me. I avoided combat and ran to the door. A machine gun blaster-wielding con had taken definite interest in me. He took aim at me. I was hit. I was propelled off course and crashed into a wall. My ped was injured. I was in pain by just putting weight on it. I couldn't run. The Decepticon closed in. I readied myself for a last stand. He fired again. I deflected the fire with my swords. He threw his gun at my swords. The weaponry scattered. The blue con ran at me with kicks and punches. I couldn't dodge all of them. I was stricken multiple times. The Decepticon stabbed my side. I fell to the ground bleeding energon. The Decepticon didn't bother finishing me off, he grabbed his weapon and left. The Autobots couldn't get to me and they didn't care. I lay there until nightfall, trying to think about something other than my imminent demise. Funny enough, I thought about how my family had recently perished. They had joined the Allspark, and I couldn't stop thinking about how the same faction that took them away, would escort me straight to them. Then, you appeared. You walked up to me. You noticed that I was still alive. I was sure the end had come. Instead, you picked me up and carried me to your- the Decepticon's- medical bay. You argued with, and then begged the doctor to help me. You saved my life, Megatron. The next day all we did was talk. You said that you saw me fight and believed that I had potential. As was customary, I swore a life debt to you. When you asked my name I told you that I, like many others, had no official name: A stretched truth that you never questioned. You laughed when I said that my unit had given me the name: The Shadow of Death. You did not laugh because that name was preposterous. You laughed because I was silver. You explained that shadows were not silver, and that they certainly did not have finite detail outlines of red that matched both their eyes and symbol. You asked me why I only used swords. I expressed my novice skill in using guns and the Autobots unwillingness to train scouts outside of battle experience. You said that I would not need guns. You promised me that you'd always be there to protect me," I held Megatron's hand. I concluded, "I joined the Decepticons that day. I met Soundwave first, and then the others later. I fought by your side. When the party gained more power and gave the soldiers more leisure, I changed my color pattern: I replaced the silver with black. Down the lines you took over the Decepticons from the Fallen. I joined your Warriors Elite. Only later, after you promoted the others to Phase Sixers, you gave me the best possible job. You promoted me to be part of your personal taskforce," I let go of Megatron's hand. I got up, walked and stood by the door. I turned around and saluted my friend, "Thank you Megatron, for everything... I'll talk to you again tomorrow."

I left the med bay and walked over to the command center. Starscream was at the helm. Today the medic was supposed to arrive. I waited as well. A few hours later Knockout joined us.

Starscream greeted the doctor, "It's about time Knockout. I do not enjoy being kept waiting!"

Knockout sighed and shrugged off Starscream's comment, "It was a long drive Starscream," The doctor said, "I'm still picking bugs out of my grill."

Starscream turned to face the doctor. He said dissaprovingly, "Yes right, you're one of **those.** "

Knockout looked at the Commander in surprise. He asked, "Come again?"

Starscream walked up to Knockout and looked down on him as he examined the doctor. Starscream inquisitively stated, "I never understood why any self respecting Decepticon chose automobile as his vehicle mode, when he could have flight."

Knockout said back, "I like the way I look in steel belted radiums."

Starscream glared at Knockout. I did not like the way Screamy treated the doctor.

I asked the commander, "Screamy, why are you being so racist? We are made as we are. One cannot choose if they want to fly or drive."

Starscream glared at me and questioned, "Then how Death's Shadow, can you choose between both?"

I plainly stated, "Genetics. I have a dual jointed T-cog."

Starscream walked over to Soundwave to confirm. _Ignorant fool._ I walked up to greet my old friend.

"Hey Knockout, it's been what? Three years? How've you been?"

Knockout smiled and answered, "I've been better. I can't believe you still call him Screamy."

I shrugged my shoulders, "You know how Starscream loves titles. He's claimed that of Lord. I still see him as a commander. I stick to Screamy because it's the safest. If I use Starscream, he'd demand I use a title. Lord would mean I acknowledge Megatron's out of commission, Commander would get me thrown into the brig."

"Geez, that seems unpleasant. I'm sorry I brought it up... Oh so many words. An annoying problem."

I shrugged again, "It's fine," I told him.

Starscream walked back over and apologized, "I'm sorry Knockout. Death's Shadow is right. You never even got the chance to experience the awesomeness of flight."

I face palmed and shook my head, "Screamy, you were so close."

Starscream remembered something. He exclaimed, "Oh, that's right! An Autobot shot down Death's Shadow recently. Knockout, you should repair her wing so that she may be able to soar again."

 _Can you please stop talking down to me now? It's starting to get on my nerves._

I shaded my optics with one of my servos to hide my disgust. Under my breath I exhaled, "Vector sigma. Do you really have to say things like that?"

 _It's bad enough you're insulting me with that blasted disgrace of a name._

Knockout heard me, but Starscream did not. All three of us walked out of the command center towards the Med Bay.

Knockout said, "I take it Lord Megatron requires a laboratory assist?"

We walked to the door to Megatron's medical room.

Starscream beat around the bush. He said hesitantly, "You might say that."

We walked into Lord Megatron's recovery room.

Knockout was surprised by Megatron's state. , "Wow, "he said with his mouth wide open.

We walked up to Megatron's bedside.

Starscream insincerely explained, "Sadly, our _inevitably_ **former** Lord, Megatron, has been like this for some time. But, the crew took a vote and it was decided that an expert might put him on the road to recovery."

Knockout turned to Starscream and said, "I've done plenty of body work Starscream. But I'm better at breaking 'em than fixing 'em." Knockout sighed and stated, "It would help if I had my assistant."

Starscream responded coldly, "I summoned both of you. Where is he?"

"We were hot on a fresh energon trail when you called. Breakdown will show when he's through scouting it."

"Fine. Breakdown can go off and put my order behind his own personal wants. I'll be in the command center if anyone needs me."

Starscream left. I pointed to the monitor that displayed brainwave activity.

I asked Knockout, "Do you know what this is?"

Knockout responded as if my question were child's play, "Of course. That measures Lord Megatron's brainwave activity. It looks incredibly low."

I placed a servo on Megatron's arm and explained; "I've noticed that if you talk to Lord Megatron for enough time then—"

"The brain activity is increasing! This isn't half as bad as Starscream made it seem. Does the commander know?"

"No, "I answered. "I haven't told anyone other than you and Soundwave. I wanted to make sure it meant something first."

Knockout nodded, "This is great! Look at how it rises! Have you been doing anything to facilitate this?"

"I've been coming here everyday to tell him a story."

Knockout walked closer to the monitor to get a better look, "Remarkable," he exclaimed.

Knockout and I left Megatron to go to the Command center. When we walked in, Breakdown was talking to Soundwave and the commander. Knockout and I walked up to the group. Soundwave was showing Breakdown a picture on his face screen.

Breakdown confirmed, "Mmhm, that's definitely it."

Starscream exclaimed, "Then I'm afraid Megatron's well being will have to wait. It's harvest time!"

I laughed, "I can't believe you just said that."

Starscream questioned, "Can't believe I said what? It's an energon harvester. I was making a pun."

I stated, "Exactly. You don't make puns," I paused for a moment, "Well I guess that was why it was so awful."

Starscream asked defensively, "Then why did you laugh?"

Breakdown answered, "She's Shadow. She laughed because it was so bad."

 _Yes! My name! It has been so long._

Starscream became a mixture of embarrassed and annoyed. He turned around and laughed. He bragged, "Well, at least I can fly!"

Starscream turned around. He wanted to feel superior over all of us. I looked at him with a very serious look.

I smugly stated, "I was shot down. Then I fought singlehandedly against five Autobots. I drove away without a single scratch sustained in battle."

Breakdown's jaw dropped and Knockout went wide-eyed.

Breakdown exclaimed, "Wow! Shadow's still got game!"

Knockout joked, "Watch out Starscream, or Shadow might just replace you."

Starscream yelled -scared at the possibility of losing his power- "HAHA! Very funny Knockout! Now can we please just get the Harvester?"

Soundwave opened a groundbridge. Knockout, Breakdown and I walked through. We ended up a block away from the museum. We transformed into our vehicle forms and drove. Unlucky for us, the Autobots were already there.

Knockout drove up to Optimus to distract him. Next, Breakdown drove forward and fired a missile at the museum. Optimus transformed and caught the projectile. Optimus was pushed back. He managed to stop after hitting the glass of the large, front, museum window. Knockout transformed and went up to Optimus with his energon prod. Optimus exchanged glances with... The Kids! I did not want to endanger those humans. Knockout stabbed Prime with his prod. Optimus was stunned; he took a few steps forward and fell. Knockout jumped onto Prime's back and prodded his neck. Optimus was down for the count.

Breakdown accelerated toward the Autobot's fallen leader. Bumblebee and Arcee came out from the sides of the museum to help Optimus. Breakdown fired missiles at both of them. In dodging, both Autobots crashed into each other.

A swirling green vortex opened up in the middle of the parking lot and striker drove out of it. She sped to her leader and failed to wake him. Breakdown aimed at the Prime and his teammate.

Bulkhead jumped off the roof of the building and landed in front of Optimus. I don't even know how he got up there, but it was a pretty cool entrance. Bulkhead ran at Breakdown. In response, Breakdown transformed and punched Bulkhead so hard; the Wrecker flew backward into Knockout. The two projectiles smashed through the Museum's window. An alarm went off. I drove up to Knockout and transformed.

This alarm woke Optimus. Striker helped the Autobot's leader slowly rise. Knockout ran towards Prime. The doctor jumped and prepared to prod the giant midair. Optimus slapped Knockout away as if he were swatting a fly. The giant fell back down. The kids left the inside area of the museum.

I called Soundwave; "I think the kids are trying to escape with the Harvester by exiting the back of the building."

Soundwave didn't respond. I assumed he had left to grab the object. Team missions were the best. Striker started to help Optimus get back up. Behind him, I saw Soundwave fly from the building carrying the Harvester. Knockout, Breakdown and I transformed and drove away. The Autobots fired behind us and Arcee drove after us.

In the middle of the road: I transformed and drew my swords. Knockout and Breakdown stopped. Arcee transformed and fired upon me. I dodged her fire and ran at her. I slashed and propelled her backwards. She did not get back up.

I transformed back into a Lamborghini and followed Breakdown's Jeep Cherokee and Knockout's cherry red Aston Martin to the excavation site. By the time we arrived, the place was crawling with vehicons. I did not feel like fighting the Autobots again today. I found Soundwave by the outskirts watching over the entire operation.

"Soundwave," I asked him, could I please get a bridge back to the Nemesis? I don't feel much like fighting Autobots today."

Soundwave nodded and opened up a portal. Starscream walked over carrying the Harvester.

He raised his eyebrow and questioned, "What? Can the warrior not handle herself? Is she retreating already?"

"Starscream, I—"

"Starscream what?" He interrupted, "Call me by my title."

I did not respond. I walked closer to the portal and looked back at Starscream. I expected he'd have a point.

The commander sighed, "Fine," he gestured for me to go with his free hand, "Go." He looked over the area and then back at me. He shouted, "If you leave now, you'll have no claim to any of this!" He offered the land with his free hand. He continued to shout, "All this energon! This will be a win for the historical archives!"

I responded plainly, "Enjoy your victory."

I walked through the portal. Soundwave followed.


	7. Speed Metal

Speed Metal

Knockout's laboratory scared me. I was sitting on an examining table. The doctor was rummaging around his many cabinets.

Knockout exclaimed, "Eureka!" He pulled out a sharp looking syringe. He brought it over.

My forearm was exposed. It had already been sterilized and prepared. Knockout primed the needle.

He calmly said, "I'll do this on three. 1... 2..." He stabbed me with the needle, in took my energon and part of my symbiotic flesh, then quickly removed the needle. He put that off to the side and bandaged the puncture. Knockout advised, "You might not want to use that arm for a few days."

 _Seriously? That's lame._

I got up off the table. My arm really hurt. I had no energy to argue with or yell at Knockout. I walked to the door, down the hall, and then to my room. I changed and tried to sleep.

Not much later I heard a knock at my door. I got out of bed and went to see who was there. Knockout seemed frantic.

He hastily asked, "Do you have say, two pairs of armor you could spare?"

I went to my dresser and pulled out both pairs of medium-battle armor. I handed them to Knockout. He rushed down the hall without a 'thank you' or 'goodbye'. Since I couldn't sleep, I walked down to Knockout's lab to see what all the commotion was about. I almost could not believe my optics. Inside were two femmes around my age.

One femme was taller and looked a little bit older than I. She was white with navy blue details and blue eyes. This femme had the most beautiful wings I had ever seen. They reminded me of a snowflake. The other was shorter and looked a little younger and less mature. This one was an army green femme with pink detail and pink eyes. It seemed that Knockout had given this femme a green Neo cloak, which covered her wheels well. Knockout planned to take Matrix down to earth and go racing.

Knockout noticed that I was standing in the doorway. He invited me in. He gestured to the femmes, "These are Snowstorm and Matrix. They are the proud successes of project New Soldiers."

Snowstorm and Matrix were the only survivors. I did not ask how many test subjects there were, or even if Knockout would try again. I felt threatened by these new femmes. I did not know a single thing about them. At this point I was very tired, I went back to my bed and slept.

 **Next Day**

I walked from Megatron's medical room to the command center.

Snowstorm and Matrix were being swarmed by cons. I decided to listen from half way across the room. This way, it seemed like I was too cool for them, and I didn't add to the chaos. At first, it was hard to decipher the information, but after a while I understood.

Snowstorm was a strategically based genius. She bore no weapons and could not fight. She seemed very proper, extremely mature, and wise. I had to fear her intellect. On the opposite of the spectrum, Matrix was a master with guns. She could hit anything from anywhere, but wasn't very smart. She was immature and rowdy. I was threatened by her usefulness. I did not want to be here, not with them. They reminded me too much of my brothers. Lucky for me, I could stay here and not be with them. With them and not. Oh, how life was cruel.

Knockouts enjoyed taking Matrix down to earth to go racing. Similarly, Starscream was going to take Snowstorm out flying. It seemed both cons had grown fond for these femmes in a short amount of time. I felt... I... I didn't know anymore. I left to go back to my room. I was not tired, but I slept anyway.

...

When I woke I decided to go to the Med Bay. I wished that guilt would drown out thoughts of insignificance and replacement. I had completely forgotten to talk to Megatron yesterday. But now, now I wasn't feeling well and wanted to go talk to the humans instead. I wanted praise and attention. I walked past Starscream in the corridor. He was pissed. I continued onto Megatron's room. Breakdown was buffing and Knockout was talking.

I asked the pair, "Did Starscream just come through here?"

Knockout enthusiastically replied, "Yeah, our **Commander** was just in here," his words turned violent and his tone into a shout, "Insulting me and my work! And wishing for Megatron's demise!"

I shrugged, "Same old Starscream. Nothing changes, nothing's new."

Knockout popped in, "Talking about new, have you met Matrix? I mean really met her? Last night we went street racing. She was such a riot! We're planning to go again tonight."

I turned away and said, "No, I haven't met her yet." I had the greatest desire to leave. But, my wing was still injured. I asked the Doctor, "Say, Knockout. Have you cleared your driving schedule with Starscream yet?"

The doctor was silent. Breakdown gave me the sickest look, as if I had just royally burned his friend.

I continued, "Because, if not, then I could cover for you." I walked up to Knockout and said, "Starscream has been taking joy in his small gain of control over me. This control, as you may know, comes from my inability to come and go as I please through flight. If you say, repaired my wing, I could make sure Starscream never finds out about your race tonight."

Knockout smiled. He cried, "You have a deal!"

Knockout fixed my wing. I exited the Med Bay. Frag, I left the Nemesis all together. I flew straight to Jasper. I didn't worry about the whole covering for Knockout thing. All I had to do was not get caught, and say Knockout was repairing my wing at the time he needs an alibi for.

I got to the freeway and transformed into my car mode. I drove to the school. When the children got out, Miko and Raf joined me outside.

Raf exclaimed, "Shadow: you won't believe what happened!"

Miko didn't let her friend to elaborate. She cried, "Jack showed up this one bully by beating him in a race with Arcee!"

I asked, "Weren't Autobots supposed to keep a low profile? Although I understand how cool it must have been, doesn't confrontation lead to problems?"

Raf answered, "Normally yes, to both of those. But this was all in the spirit of competition. The bully didn't hold a grudge, and Arcee didn't expose herself."

Miko shouted, "Besides! We knew Jack was good. But, because he won, everyone else knows he's good! It's awesome!"

I concluded, "So confrontation can be taken not as a threat, just as a point." I scanned the area for the Autobots. I recognized the humans' helpfulness, "Thank you both. It was nice talking to you, but—"

Miko cut me off. She yelled, "Don't go back to the Cons! You can stay here. Let me introduce you to Bulkhead. He and the others have been feeling bad since the last time you guys fought."

 _Fought? Oh, when I didn't._

Raf asked, "You haven't been avoiding them on purpose, have you?"

I didn't respond. Under my breath, I angrily said, "Vector sigma!"

Miko asked, "What's wrong Shadow? Is it really true?"

I explained, "If it was obvious to you guys, it's probable the Decepticons have also realized it. Ah! This is not good."

Raf apologized, "I'm sorry Shadow. I'm sorry I couldn't do anything before. Is there any way I can I help now?

 _Please, please, please stop being nice to me. It will in no way help my case with the Cons..._

I consoled the boy, "Actually, there is one thing. If I fight team Prime later, could you convey that I am probably apologetic about it?"

The kids looked at me like they were going to try and convince me that I should just become an Autobot. _Plan B._ I didn't want to have to reason with them about a subject I personally struggled with.

I said, "I should go before my absence raises any suspicion on base."

Miko screamed, "Wait!" and ran out in front of me. I had a feeling she was really going to go into the whole, 'join the bots' spiel.

"Guys. I really don't have time for this right now."

"Shadow," Raf asked, "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why to everything."

"I really don't have time for this."

 _Philosophy takes forever. You'd be dead before I'd be done._

"Why did you save us?"

"No innocents should die."

"We're not even of your species! Why did you do it?"

I sighed, "... Because you three reminded me of my own family."

"The cons?" Miko asked.

"No," I whispered as I backed out of the parking spot and left. Visiting the kids was dangerous for many reasons. Not only did I have to fear the Autobots or the Decepticons finding out, but I also had the kids to be wary of. They acknowledged me as some awesome thing that my faction did not. When out of range, I transformed and flew back to the Nemesis.

After I landed in the hanger, I walked back towards the Med Bay. The humans and their story had got me thinking about competition. I wanted to go meet this Matrix and ask her to battle. This time when I walked into Megatron's room, Starscream was there. He was yelling at Breakdown over the location of Knockout.

 _Time to keep my end of the deal._

I asked Starscream, "What do you want with Knockout?"

Starscream screamed, "He thinks he can do whatever he wants! He thinks he can just come and go as he pleases!"

"Did you check his room?" I asked.

"What would he be doing there?"

I lied, "He's applying more paint. He said something about wanting to look his best. Honestly I don't know. The fumes got to me."

Starscream enquired, "And why do you know where he is?"

I pretended I was still injured. I deceived, "I was setting up a time later for him to fix my injured wing."

Starscream looked at me for a while. He concluded that I was telling the truth, and he headed back to the command center.

Breakdown complimented, "Nice cover."

I responded, "Thanks. So, I'm guessing they left to go race."

Breakdown nodded, "I'll check to make sure."

I left for the command center. As soon as I arrived, Soundwave came up to me. He pulled me off to the side. He seemed worried.

Soundwave stated using his mechanical voice, "Shadow, you have not been yourself lately. You have been too unmotivated to preform missions and have been avoiding any battle and all confrontation with the Autobots."

Soundwave never lectured me. This was a first. I didn't want him to know that I was having doubts about being a con. Least of all that I have been considering switching factions. So, I was silent.

Soundwave received an emergency message from Matrix. She, Breakdown, and Knockout were in trouble. They were on the losing side of an Autobot attack. She asked for backup and requested that Starscream wouldn't be informed of the situation.

 _Smart move. Screamy's a real prick about, well, just about everything._

I wanted to end any doubts Soundwave had about my loyalty. I offered, "I can go. If my comrades need help, I'll help. Just make sure Starscream doesn't find out. I'm on thin enough ice with him already."

Soundwave nodded and opened a groundbridge. He was satisfied. I was not. I did not want to go, not really. I just had to find a way to hide my unwillingness to fight the Autobots, and this seemed like the best way to do that.

The portal transported me to a parking lot. Knockout had abandoned his teammates and was followed by Arcee. Breakdown was knocked out. The irony. Matrix was losing a hand-to-hand combat battle with Bumblebee. Matrix apparently sucked at close combat, or any combat that didn't involve guns. Just like my younger brother, before he fought me. Bulkhead was still attacking Breakdown. I heard a weird bird-like humming noise. I ignored it and tried to focus on the situation at hand.

A golden blur rammed me into the ground. I kicked her off of me, sprinted to the Bot flying through air, and slammed her into the ground. She was out, atleast temporarily.

Now, with immediate threats gone, I drew my swords, lowered my mask, it slid -from the back of my head- over my face, and I ran at Bulkhead. He didn't see me coming. I hit the Wrecker off of my friend. I could see it in his optics. He was trying to kill my defenseless comrade. I got into a fighting stance. I prepared myself for retaliation. But, none came. Bulkhead called to Bumblebee and both Autobots drove to their teammate, got her up, and went away.

Matrix came up to me. She was damaged. It seemed as if she thanked me an infinite amount of times. She was still worried though. She held that Bumblebee and Bulkhead left in the same direction as Arcee. I transformed into my jet form and flew in pursuit of the Autobots. I realized that the sound came from Laserbeak. Soundwave was not completely fooled. He never is.

I landed a few lengths from Knockout and transformed. He was in a ditch next to Optimus. The other Autobots were close. Optimus lifted up Knockout's car form. The doctor was keeping a human hostage in his driver seat.

I ran at Optimus and jabbed his lower torso. I knew all of Orion's weak spots. He bent over and dropped my friend back into the ditch. The other Autobots were almost upon us. Optimus exchanged one of his servos for a blaster and stood back up.

I ordered Knockout, "Release the human, now!"

Knockout complied. He unbuckled the human from his seat. I put away one of my swords and used that free servo to grab the human. I heard Laserbeak up overhead. The other Autobots arrived and transformed. I had the feeling that they wanted to talk. Not Striker though, neither her nor Bee. One couldn't, and the other liked to fight. Even if she did always lose.

Lucky for me, Bulkhead pointed to the sky and yelled, "Laserbeak!" Alerting his comrades to my supervision.

Knockout sped away from the danger the Autobots posed. I slowly placed the human on the ground next to my ped. I quickly stowed my other sword, transformed into my car form and followed my abandoning 'friend'. Soundwave bridged us into the med bay. In the same room, Breakdown was lying unconscious and Matrix was badly damaged. As soon as we arrived, Matrix ran up and hugged me. She thanked me tons of times more. Knockout attended to the femme and his assistant. He thanked me as well. He believed that if I had not showed up, Optimus would have ripped his driver side door off. I felt satisfied with my comrades' thanks and was no longer worried that Matrix would replace me.

I walked to the command center. I wanted to see if I had beaten Laserbeak back to Soundwave. I did not. Soundwave distracted Starscream. Since it appeared that Soundwave was working, I did not bother him. We both held up our side of the deal. Although I would have liked to parade Soundwave's inability to trust me, there was no need. I was temporarily in the clear.


	8. Predatory

Predatory

"Cybertron was still alive. You had commissioned a secret tunnel to transport troops and supplies. But, there was a traitor among us. The Autobots found out about our little project. You had sent my task group in to clear the no-longer-secret path. We faced strong opposition. You had heard of an Autobot barricade waiting on the other end of the tunnel. You wanted to personally destroy these meddling Autobots and interrogate at least one of them to discover who was the traitor among us." I smiled. "Too bad he was on Tarn's team." My smile faded. The DJD was ruthless to traitors. "My group went in," I said. "We fought. By the end, they had all perished. A plasma grenade caused a beam to trap me. It destroyed the circuiting in my ped. I could not move and was in an intense amount of pain. Why always my feet? Anyway, I called Soundwave to send in some one to help me get free, before you arrived. I remember Soundwave telling me that everyone else was dead. I gestured air quotations, "Shocker," I said. "Soundwave informed me that you, and your second wave of elite soldiers: Soundwave, Dreadwing, Skyquake, Breakdown, Airachnid and Starscream; would be the first to respond. I waited, not for long. I tried an infinite amount of times to get free. Despite my best efforts, I could not."

"...When you finally did arrive, I felt ashamed. An injured soldier never left the battlefield. We both knew that: everyone did. You and your force arrived. You personally lifted the beam and I rolled out from underneath the no-longer-enclosed area. I stood. I don't even know how it was possible, but each step was more painful than the last. I hid my injury. I claimed that I would slow down your group of soldiers, and I requested my return to the base. You would not allow it. You said that I was important, and a good fighter. You forced me to join your party. Your soldiers talked of how weak and pathetic I was: A claim proven by my getting trapped under a freaking metal beam, and a blatant inability to free myself. I did my best to conceal my injury. I walked next to Dreadwing towards the back of the pack. When we exited the tunnel, the Autobots were waiting for us. We fought valiantly -as you probably remember- the Autobots had that disintegration cannon. It had two shots. I saved you twice. _Twice._ The first I pushed you out of the way. We both avoided the blow. The second, I redirected it. You were fixed in your position. They aimed at you. Supposed checkmate. I moved in front of you and did my best to redirect the fire. Remember back then? When I had tried to use blasters? When I finally woke in the Med Bay, the medical officer informed me. Certain systems were destroyed. One of which, was my targeting. Another was a cut in my energon system. Even without automatic targeting, I would never be able to use a gun again. I was just no longer compatible. You got Shockwave to make me superior armor and boosters to compensate. You remember what you told me? You said that I had saved your life twice. You admitted it. You never did. You asked me why I had risked my life for your own. Starscream wouldn't have. I told you that I wouldn't let any comrade perish if I could stop it. You were stubborn. You concluded that since I would have done it, even without the life debt, neither would count. You joked. You kidded that I would be forced to stay with you forever. Looking back on it: I wouldn't mind standing by your side indefinitely." I squeezed Megatron's servo, "You just have to wake up." I felt a tear of energon roll down my face, "You just have to wake up." I caught my breath, let go of his servo, and dried my face. I told him, "I admitted that I was injured, before the battle. I asked you if you'd want a useless injured soldier... You remember what you said? You told me that you would always want me: Even if I were injured, or useless. But as long as I was by your side, neither would be true."

...

I walked into the command center. Snowstorm was talking to Soundwave. I was timid. Starscream walked up to me.

The commander asked, "Shadow, are you alright?"

 _Odd._

I answered, "I'm fine." Since Starscream was deciding to be nice, I thought I would as well. I asked for the commander's permission, "I have a request," I said.

Starscream was intrigued. He said, "Go on."

"May I commandeer a training room? I plan to spar with Matrix."

Starscream was surprised, but extremely happy. He answered, "Of course Shadow. Thank you for asking me... But, why bother asking?"

"You are the current leader on the Nemesis. You have jurisdiction over the place. I didn't know if you had planned something or not."

A large smile grew on Starscream's face. He proudly stated, "I wish the others could follow in your example Shadow of Death. Thank you again for asking for my permission."

I nodded and left. I did not want to meet Snowstorm. I had met intelligent bots before. If she was as much like him, as Matrix was the other, I did not want to meet her. Intelligent bots should -in general- be feared. Soundwave, Starscream, Shockwave, Data, etc. all were intimidating and should not be underestimated or completely trusted.

I walked over to Matrix's room. I knocked.

She called out, "Hold on, give me a moment!"

Matrix opened the door. I could tell that she had just gotten up. She was surprised to see me.

She stood up straight and saluted, "Shadow- Death's Shadow, Sir-Ma'am" Her words stumbled over each other. She quickly remembered, "The Shadow of Death, good morning!"

I waved away her salute. I casually informed her, "Matrix, none of this is necessary. I'm not Starscream. You had it right first, just call me Shadow."

Matrix apologized, "Sorry Shadow. It's just... Thank you again for yesterday. You really saved my a**."

 _Human vocab. Cool._

I rubbed the back of my neck, "It's fine," I said. "About yesterday, I noticed your close combat skills need work."

Matrix looked ashamed. She her gaze fell to the ground.

I quickly restated my offer, "Which is all completely fine!" I said.

Matrix looked up at me with puppy eyes and asked, "Really?"

I admitted, "Yeah. Personally, I also have to work on my hand-to-hand combat. Would you want to spar with me?"

Matrix fist pumped the air, "Hell Yeah! I mean, Pit yeah! No wait... Scrap yeah? Scrap yeah!"

Matrix followed me over to the training room. It was empty. Matrix was awestruck.

She gaped, "Is this entire place for us?"

I nodded, Matrix was taken back by the size, but it was just one of the many places built that was meant to train many units at once. I walked to the middle of the space. Since we both left our weapons in our rooms, we had nothing to cheat with. Matrix faced me.

She ran at me with all of her might, I dodged. Matrix fell. I offered her a hand to get up. She got up on her own. Matrix ran at me again, this time she punched. I blocked with my arm. She continued to punch, I continued to block. I sweep kicked. She fell again.

This exercise made me feel better about my fighting skill. The truth was that I sucked at hand-to-hand combat. Unlike me, Gunfire actually trained to improve. He actually ended up rocking at it. When it came to close combat, I usually defaulted to my swords. This exercise went on for many more hours. We both improved.

We faced each other in the middle. Matrix ran at me. I dodged and punched. Matrix blocked and sweep kicked. I jumped and kicked off of her. I landed a bit away. Matrix ran again. I punched. She dodged. She punched back. I blocked and spun around her. I struck at the pressure point on her back. She fell. Matrix barrel rolled out of the way. She rose to her feet. I rushed her and fake punched. She blocked. Matrix left her chest unguarded. I high kicked. She was propelled backward into a wall. I walked up to her and offered her my hand. She took it. I helped her up.

Matrix looked over my shoulder. Our last match had an audience. I turned around. Soundwave and Snowstorm stood by the door.

Soundwave walked up to me, Snowstorm followed. Soundwave gestured to me, he introduced Snowstorm, "Snowstorm, this is Shadow."

 _No "Shadow of Death"? Casual. Not work-related._

Snowstorm seemed shy. She stammered, "Hi Shadow. I-I- I'm pleased to meet you."

I responded coolly, "It's nice to meet you as well."

Soundwave left. Snowstorm looked over her shoulder. She was scared.

Matrix kidded, "Shadow won't bite. She might kick you though."

I sighed and asked the question others usually asked me to show that they cared, "Snowstorm, are you alright?"

Snowstorm nodded and timidly explained, "I wanted to meet you. I didn't want to mess this up."

Matrix jokingly asked, "What would happen if you messed up?"

"Then Shadow wouldn't want to be my friend."

"I'll be your friend Snowstorm," I said. Matrix looked annoyed. I added, "—and Matrix, we can all be friends"

Matrix smiled. She smugly said, "See, what was so hard about that?"

Snowstorm defended, "I didn't want to be too forward. If so, then I could appear in-genuine and come off as a threat."

 _Really smart._

I kidded, "Not a threat? So, you aren't going to kill me or use me as a scape goat then?" Snowstorm could tell I wasn't being serious. She shook her head. I continued, "Good. Because I already have Screamy for all that."

Starscream called me using the training room's speaker.

Matrix commented, "Speak of the devil and he shall appear."

Starscream commanded, "Shadow, I need you to lead Snowstorm and Matrix on a mission. Please report to the command center immediately."

 _I guess someone doesn't trust Knockout, Breakdown, or the vehicons._

We walked to the said location. I couldn't believe Starscream had the audacity to give me orders. He wasn't even my superior! Snowstorm could tell this from my body language. Intuitive. She didn't tell any of it to Matrix.

Starscream ordered, "There is some Intel you need to erase from a human data source and an object we need returned."

Soundwave opened a portal.

Starscream concluded, "A Decepticon vessel landed and has been catalogued. Snowstorm has already been given all the details. Don't fail."

I didn't even bother glaring at Starscream. I just walked through the groundbridge. In front of us lied a makeshift human base.

I asked Snowstorm, "Who exactly are we up against?"

The intelligence officer answered, "A terrorist organization not affiliated with any government. You reported that they had a gun, which fired devices that disabled technology."

Matrix was lost. I responded, "Oh, them. Do you have a plan?"

"Yes," Snowstorm answered, "Matrix should provide cover fire, you escort me to delete the data and then we steal the alien object."

Matrix turned to me and questioned, "Wait a second... If you're supposed to lead, then why is Snow creating a plan?"

I answered, "Missions never go according to plan, but it's a good one to start out with. For example: this base is made up of three tents connected by pathways. One contains the data we need to destroy, another the object- probably hidden in the crash site- the third, I don't honestly know. If you two stay here, I could scout which tent is which, and then we could move forward. You two stay here, stay hidden and keep your COM links active."

I ran away from the base and then transformed into my jet form. I raised my altitude. Matrix and Snowstorm were talking.

Snowstorm asked Matrix, "Why did you call me Snow?"

Matrix responded, "I have nicknames for everyone."

"Could you elaborate?"

"Sure. The Shadow of Death is Shadow because Shadow is shorter, Starscream is Heels on account of his stiletto heeled feet, Knockout is Elf because he has elf ears, Soundwave is Slender since he looks kind of like slender man, I don't have one for Breakdown yet and I think I'll call Megatron either bushy brow or Bucket head once Elf uses his magic to heal him."

I scanned the area and identified the three tents. The plan would need to change. I went back down to my comrades and sumarized my findings.

I pointed to the base and showed, "From this position, the far left tent contains the crash site. The middle tent contains their base of operations- it's where the data is- The Farthest tent back is where they store their weaponry."

Both of my teammates nodded. I continued. "Matrix, your cover fire should really be a diversion. You need to try and take out their weaponry. Snowstorm and I should sneak in through here. Matrix, as soon as we're in; I need you to take my position protecting Snowstorm. Once you arrive, I'll go to find the object. Is that clear?"

Matrix and Snowstorm complied without question. Matrix transformed and drove around to the other side. Snowstorm and I waited. Then, Boom! A large explosion engulfed the far tent. Snowstorm and I rushed in. I cut us an entrance with my swords. The humans fled their stations. Snowstorm went to a computer and jacked in. Moment's later, armed guards stormed in. They fired at us. I deflected their bullets with my swords. Matrix drove right through a wall and open fired upon the enemy. She guarded Snowstorm.

I 'snuck' to the crash site, knocking out any humans that blocked my path. I could hear helicopters enclosing. I put down my mask and scanned the area. Everything here was an alien object. I rescanned for power sources. I walked into the smoldered remains of the crashed ship. I turned a few corners and my detector went off. I sliced through a safe door. Lucky for me, the safe was damaged. The door popped right off. I grabbed a weird pyramidal structure. A lot of energy was radiating off of it.

I called Snowstorm, "Does the data say anything specific about the object?"

Snowstorm responded, "It mainly measures some power source. But, the data applies to the entire ship."

It seemed the humans were bad at making assumptions. I couldn't believe they didn't even... I walked out of the ship and into a trap. Four helicopters surrounded me. They were each equipped with a specially modified gun.

I called Matrix, "Is Snowstorm done yet? Because, it might be a good time to retreat."

The helicopters fired. I dodged like crazy. I jumped, left, right, back flipped, spun, ducked, and barrel rolled. I transformed into my jet form and led the helicopters away. All the while I maneuvered around their fire.

Matrix responded, "Almost. Just let me check. 43, no, 41 seconds left."

I flew next to a helicopter and used it as a shield. The other choppers shot it with the device. Electricity covered the thing, and then it fell out of the sky. I continued dodging, mainly through barrel rolls.

I ordered Matrix, "I'm going to be flying into sight soon. As soon as I do, aim for the helicopters on my tail. As soon as I get close, I will decrease altitude. You have to hop on and grab hold of me while I am in flight. By the time this happens Snowstorm should be done. She should transform and we'll all flee."

I tight turned, avoiding more fire. I flew toward the hole. Matrix shot down two of the choppers pursuing me. I dropped altitude. Both of my teammates exited the tent. Snowstorm took a running start, transformed and flew. I dropped lower, Matrix jumped, and then held onto a crevice near my cockpit. I followed Snowstorm back to base.

We entered through the hanger. Matrix jumped off. Snowstorm and I transformed. I took the object out from one of my compartments.

Matrix asked surprised, "How did you transport that energy-blasting thing?"

I answered, "It was underneath the glass of my cockpit. Buckled into the seat."

We walked into the command center. Starscream frowned when he saw that we had successfully completed the mission. Restated, I had completed the mission. The vehicons talked of it around us. They claimed that I was a remarkable leader, because I successfully accomplished a task with two almost untrained cons; Whereas Starscream could not complete any of his own missions, even with the best Decepticons under his command. Although it was just talk amongst the vehicons, Snowstorm later explained to me how much Starscream feared my success. I no longer had safety.

We put the object in storage. Soundwave congratulated Snowstorm, and Matrix celebrated with Knockout back on land with a race.

Starscream went back to his scheming. I walked to the Med Bay. I wasn't hurt or anything, I just wanted to tell Breakdown some good news.

I entered Lord Megatron's room. Breakdown was buffing him. Breakdown stopped and turned to me.

"I heard of your victory from the vehicons. Congratulations."

"Thanks Breakdown," I said. I walked toward him and exclaimed, "You won't guess whose ship it was!"

"Then I won't guess," he said. "Whose ship was it?"

I wanted to savor Breakdown's reaction. I coolly stated, "Airachnid's."

Breakdown blushed. His orange face changed into the darkest shade of red. He grabbed my shoulders and shook me, "Really!?" He asked. "That's wonderful!"

Breakdown had a large crush on that spider-like femme. I could never understand why. I hated her at least a little more than I hated Starscream. But, I was happy for Breakdown. This would add some interesting drama to the dynamic onboard the Nemesis.


	9. Sick Mind

Sick Mind

The command center was almost empty. Because we were not shielded, certain cons were actually doing their jobs to make sure we didn't all die. Unlike them, I was in the command center polishing my blades. Snowstorm, Matrix, Soundwave, Knockout, and Breakdown were actually out doing something.

Starscream yelled at a vehicon, "Why has the electromagnetic shielding not been repaired!?"

The vehicon responded, "The crews are working as quickly as they can Lord—"

Starscream slapped the vehicon upside his head. Starscream angrily complained, "We are leaking a trail! All the Autobots need do to pinpoint our position is to access the right frequency wavelength! Accelerate your efforts!"

The vehicon complied, "Yes, Lord Starscream." The vehicon ran off.

 _Lord, still? F*ck, I'll get to it later. First, I'm gonna make this baby shine._

Knockout walked through the doors. He exclaimed, "Doctor in the house."

Starscream scuffed and turned to the doctor, "Ah, Knockout. And how is the patient doing today?"

I put down my battle-mask. Contrary to popular belief it was quite useful. Other than scanning and protecting my face, it also increased certain senses like hearing and sight. I could both accurately clean my weaponry and covertly listen in on Knockout and Starscream's conversation.

Starscream waked towards the doctor. Knockout put a servo on his hip and made a tired gesture.

He stated bored-ly, "Same old."

Starscream turned around and over acted, "An inglorious fate that he should remain in this vegetative state."

Knockout refuted, "On the contrary. Megatron's body may be scrap metal," Knockout tapped his head, "But his mind is still percolating."

Starscream turned around to face and lean in towards Knockout. He demanded as he whispered, "Keep that to yourself! That blasted Soundwave sees and hears everything."

Knockout quietly clarified, "The eyes and ears of the Decepticons."

"Well, as long as their master remains in limbo, so does their cause." Starscream waved his finger, "The Decepticons deserve a," he clenched his fist, "Strong, alert, leader."

Knockout added, "One who would require a loyal second in command."

Starscream chuckled manically, "A candidate would need to earn that post by making a strong case to said eyes and ears."

Knockout smirked, "A case for showing mercy, Lord Starscream?"

 _Lord._

"You scratch my back, I scratch yours."

The commander and Doctor wanted to kill Megatron. I could not allow that to happen. I started devising a plan to combat the two villains. Long term, Tarn would be the best, but no call to him could be covert, and it would take some time before he and his DJD could actually respond.

Starscream called Soundwave, and the communications officer arrived. I retracted my mask and put my swords away. I walked up to the three. Starscream jumped from fright. He had forgotten I was here.

 _Best expression ever._

I asked the fool, "What are you three up to?"

Starscream defensively questioned, "Shadow, us? How about you?"

I answered; "I was just polishing my swords," I played dumb, "Did I miss something?"

Knockout covered, "We were just about to show Soundwave Megatron's state."

"Is this some sort of special occasion or something? I just saw him earlier and—"

Starscream hurried the questioning along, ignoring my input."Now if you'd allow us to go," he said.

I volunteered, "I should come with. Nothing is happening here anyway. Because our shielding is down, Autobots could attack us at any moment. Besides," I said, "a little protection couldn't hurt."

Soundwave nodded. I tagged along. We exited the command center. Something felt off about the Nemesis, other than the shields being down. We walked into Megatron's medical room and up to our master.

Starscream nicely asked, "Knockout, if you would be so kind as to provide your expert medical opinion to Soundwave. For the historical record."

Knockout walked up to the main monitor. He explained, "Simply put, unaided, Megatron could remain in this deathless slumber forever."

I cut in, "That's why he's being aided. Right? He can recover aided, despite how bleak it may look now."

Knockout explained, "If he has not recovered by now with aid, it is doubtful what use more aid would do."

Starscream faked despair as he exclaimed, "Our master would not have wanted to be seen this way. To stand idly by while he remains captive in his own body is not just."

Soundwave walked forward to the monitor and pointed out Megatron's fluctuating brainwave activity.

Knockout explained skeptically, "Brain activity, not evidence of consciousness. But merely of an endless dream from which Megatron may never wake."

Starscream was a very good actor. He displayed signs of a moral consciousness when he implored, "Soundwave, we must face reality. Megatron is lost to us."

Knockout added, "The only honorable option would be to show him Mercy."

"A simple throw of the switch," Starscream said.

"Quick, Painless, Compassionate," the doctor explained.

My spark hurt. It felt sad. I stepped in and stated with the most authoritative tone I could muster,"I cannot permit you to kill Lord Megatron."

Starscream was more than just irritated. He demanded, "Why not? Can't you see he's in pain? Putting him out of his misery is the merciful thing."

I coldly spat, "Don't talk to me about mercy Starscream. You have no proof Megatron's in pain." My optics' stare pierced the Commander's spark. I reminded him, "Besides, I still owe our master a life debt."

Starscream glared at me maniacally, he proposed, "Then let us find another way to pay your life debt."

 _Tarn, I need to get Tarn._

I demanded, "Give Megatron another week. If he does not wake, then you may murder him."

Starscream shouted, "It is not murder! Megatron has not recovered in all of this time. Why do you think he'd wake up now?!"

"I have a debt to pay Starscream," I answered plainly. "If Megatron dies, I tried my best and I am free of it. If he wakes up, I have saved his life from you and your **mercy** , and am also free of it."

Starscream asked annoyed, "Soundwave? Do I take your silence to mean you concur with Knockout's medical expertise?"

Soundwave was silent.

I threatened Starscream, "With my plan you have nothing to lose, if you truly have the best intentions. The only thing you lose is power if Megatron wakes."

Soundwave did not move. He did not make any sign to whom he would agree with.

Starscream walked closer to the plug and slyly stated, "Speak now or forever hold your piece," Starscream looked back at Soundwave and asked, "Going, going..."

Soundwave pointed to the wire attached to Megatron's head.

Starscream acted intrigued. He mumbled, "Hmm." The commander saw the cord was connected from Megatron's head to another out-of-sight location. Starscream followed the cord.

He exclaimed, "What in!"

Two Autobots stood up and pointed their guns at Starscream. A ground bridge opened up behind them.

Starscream yelled, "Intruders!"

Arcee pointed her blaster and offered, "Allow me." She shot at the plug and jumped back into the portal.

Megatron's spark stopped beating.

Starscream sighed in relief. He triumphantly stated, "It was the **inevitable** outcome."

Soundwave glared at Starscream from underneath his visor.

Starscream growled, "Of course it would be wrong to allow Megatron to perish by an Autobot's hand," Starscream turned to me and submitted, "Shadow, you may have your week to pay for your life debt. But, we should plan to reconvene then." Starscream commanded the Doctor, "Knockout!"

Knockout put the plug back in its outlet.

Soundwave and I left. As we walked back to the command center, he asked, "After one week, what will become of Megatron?"

I answered, "I don't know. I'll have to ask Snowstorm to help me come up with a plan."

A lie, but of my real plan, Soundwave would not approve.

My friend asked a different question, "And what about your life debt?"

I answered, "Megatron is worth more to me than a debt. It being paid won't change a thing. Proof of this being that the debt was technically already paid a long time ago. Many times in fact. Our Lord actually owes me. But this isn't about that."

Soundwave and I waited in the command center. It wasn't until five minutes later that Matrix and Snowstorm burst in.

Matrix exclaimed proudly, "Look at my champion!" She ran over and hugged me. Matrix bragged, "My good friend Shadow, saved Megatron's life!"

Soundwave was intrigued at how this information spread so quickly. He walked over to Snowstorm to discuss the possibilities and outcomes.

Matrix jostled my head and complemented me, "Just look at that beautiful brain of yours! So quick! So smart! Say... What exactly is this life debt thing you used to out lawyer Starscream?"

"It's a binding contract based on a promise," I explained, "It was commonly used by cybertronians, almost regularly before the Great War. To have one shows great honor and loyalty."

Matrix cried, "Cool! I want one!"

I spent the next hour explaining why she did not.

Soundwave and Snowstorm had been predicting the rate gossip would travel and how far it would go.

Not much after I had finished explaining to Matrix, vehicons entered the command center. The ship's shielding was repaired. More interesting; however, was a new rumor circling the Nemesis. Soundwave picked it up. He and Snowstorm walked over.

Soundwave played the vehicon chatter, "Do you think it's true? You mean about Lord Starscream not being the one true heir? Yeah! I think it might actually be the Shadow of Death. Oh, definitely! She has always stood loyal with lord Megatron. Also, she succeeded in leading when Starscream did not! You're right! Did you notice how she never referred to Starscream as Lord? Yeah! When the spacebridge blew up, she refused to believe that Megatron was dead. She was right! She also refused to follow Starscream."

I was dying of laughter on the inside.

Snowstorm commented, "This is just some of the vehicon chatter we picked up."

Matrix asked, "There's more of it?"

Soundwave nodded.

Snowstorm continued, "Some of it goes far more in depth. The vehicons compare Shadow's successes to Starscream's failures. Some even have Vehicons denouncing Starscream as their one true Lord."

A smile grew from a tiny perk, to a monster, which had wrapped its tail around my face.

I gasped, "Wow." The smile faded. "Starscream's gonna kill me," and then I smirked.

...

"That's a shame."

"Procedure, it can be a bit much at times, but—"

"Anything approved by Megatron is high truth. Yes, I know."

"So, you see, this can't be done covertly."

"Yes Tarn, thank you for trying."

"Trying? You know, Megatron said trying was nothing but failure disguised. If you want success—"

"Starscream is planning to extinguish our Lord's spark."

"I'll send Ghost for recon."

"Thank you Tarn."

"Don't mention it... By the way, Sky Shadow's dead."

"Your team?"

"I can't say he met his end with peace, but I can assure you that you're now the only one of your name."

"..."

"Ghost will arrive as soon as she can. Keep the hierarchy in tact until then... and Shadow, take care. I enjoyed speaking with you again."


	10. Out of His Head

Out of His Head

I walked into the command center. It was crawling with vehicons. Starscream was preparing to swear in Knockout as commander. Vehicons turned to me. I was feeling a lot of peer pressure.

A vehicon shouted, "We're behind you Shadow of Death!"

Many others joined him.

I felt exhilarated. Waves of motivation and courage flowed through me. I strode up to Starscream and smugly proclaimed, "As long as Megatron still lives, you are no Lord."

Starscream was absolutely pissed. Vehicons around the room cheered.

I continued, "And I shall remind you that only a Lord can swear in a commander."

Starscream shouted, "Well then! What does that make you? I should extinguish your spark for spreading such lies!"

I proudly answered, "I am the Shadow of Death: Member of Megatron's personal taskforce and out of your military jurisdiction."

Vehicons burst with applause.

I might have just signed my death warrant, but this was amazing. I had only a little bit longer to wait.

Snowstorm gave me a worried look and Soundwave gestured for me to leave.

I took the advice of my friends. I didn't want to be there when the scrap hit the fan. Well, not any more than I had just caused. I went back to my room to better hide anything Starscream could use as blackmail against me. I pulled out my damaged armor and Miko's picture from my drawer. If not for this morning's event, I would have forgotten about them completely. I better hid the picture inside of the armor. I placed both items beneath my sheets, under my pillow on my berth. I would have to move them later. But for now, they were out of sight in an easy place for me to run into them again incase I forgot. I left my room. Some vehicons came up to me.

One of the vehicons asked, "Shadow of Death, do you plan on taking power away from Starscream?"

No," I truthfully replied, "I do not plan on taking power away from the commander."

They both smiled. Not at my response, at my use of the word commander.

The other vehicon asked, "Do you want to gain any power, possibly becoming Lord?"

Again I answered sincerely, "No, I am completely content to remain a warrior who serves under my Master, Lord Megatron."

Grins again. I myself wanted to smirk.

I knew Soundwave was probably using my responses to try and calm down Starscream. These vehicons thanked me for my time, before running off to spread the information. Only later, did I walk into the command center.

Starscream was ordering his vehicons to steal something from the humans. I paid him no mind. I walked over to Matrix instead and listened to her tell me how courageous I was.

If not for Ghost, this femme would always stay loyal. But, betrayal was imminent. I wanted to prepare for the worst. She got jealous at Snowstorm. Matrix is not one to share, especially not with someone who I went to without her knowledge. Maybe I was just overthinking this, but she definitely would have a reaction, we all would.

The Nemesis went to the Arctic. The vehicons had apparently stolen some lens. Starscream, Knockout, and Breakdown stepped outside. They could freeze if they wanted to; I honestly did not care whatsoever.

All across the ship, a burst of power was felt. Cons in the command center shook. I looked outside; Starscream was firing a giant laser. I immediately thought this would bring the Autobots. I remembered how Bumblebee had linked through a cortical-psychic-patch with Lord Megatron. After that, Lord Megatron stopped emitting brainwaves. I had assumed my Lord's mind had transferred bodies. If the Autobot scout returned, I would not hesitate to help my master end Starscream's reign.

I went to Megatron's medical room and waited. Bumblebee opened the door.

"Welcome back Lord Megatron," I greeted.

I helped him apply the cortical psychic patch.

With his weird voice of tones, he asked me to go out and fight the Autobots. I waited in Knockout's lab. Even though he was my Lord, I really didn't want to fight the bots. Besides, I could always lie and say that I couldn't understand him. But, then I would be lying to him, and I couldn't do that. I didn't want to disappoint. I was just so excited that he had returned. I just knew that he would shout something like that. I really couldn't wait. I was almost jumpy. Ratchet and Raphael rushed in. They did not notice me. I guess my black paintjob really did help me blend in as a shadow on the wall. Moments later Megatron walked out.

"Decepticons!" He shouted, "Your rightful Lord-and-Master has returned!"

 _Yaaayyyy! All Hail Megatron! Tarn'll throw a party._

I officially greeted him with a group of vehicons.

Megatron commanded, "Finnish these pests! I have my own extermination to perform!" He walked by and ordered, "Shadow... follow me."

My face was covered by another monstrous smile. I was so incredibly happy that Megatron was back. We went to the hanger. The Nemesis shook. It felt as if there had been a large explosion. We ran outside. Megatron transformed into his jet form, and I followed. Starscream was flying straight down at Optimus Prime. Megatron crashed into the commander, saving Optimus. Megatron pushed Starscream all the way back to the Nemesis. I hovered next to the group of Autobots. I don't know why I did. Excitement?

Arcee said, "Congratulations on paying your life debt."

"Thanks! It feels great!"

There was a silence. I wanted to speak, they wanted to speak, but no one knew how to proceed. I remembered I was supposed to be following Megatron.

"You wanna fight?" Striker asked, "For old time's sake?"

"You guys should probably get out of here." I said. "I think it's about to get ugly."

I flew away from the Autobots and towards the Nemesis. I realized how f*cked I would be if the DJD had an inside man up here. _Too much stuff tying me to the bots_. _Time to distance._ I landed next to Megatron.

My Lord yelled, "It will be a miracle alright Starscream, if you survive what I have planned for you!"

It seemed as if I had just landed in the middle of something.

Starscream transformed and tried to fly away. Megatron grabbed his tail wings, held him down, spun and threw him across to crash into another part of the Nemesis.

Megatron turned to me and said affectionately, "Shadow, I do not think your spark can handle what I plan to do. Go back to the command center and wait for me there."

I nodded, "Thank you my Lord," and complied. I walked to the command center. I greeted the gang. Breakdown and Knockout were in the Med Bay. Snowstorm was chatting with Soundwave. Matrix was asking a vehicon how he drove the ship. For the moment, I felt happy.

Many hours had passed. Megatron did not come. Matrix and Snowstorm had left for bed. The vehicons were switching out for the night shift. I was tired. I yawned. Soundwave walked over. He pointed out that it was late.

"I have been waiting for I don't remember how long," I said. "I can wait a little longer."

Soundwave went off to recharge. I went to stand next to Megatron's leader chair. That stand faded into sitting next to, which degraded into me leaning back against the side of its armrest. I decided to close my optics for a moment. Just a moment. I wasn't in power down mode; I fell into this half sleep as I rested against his chair. Seconds passed... or maybe they were hours. Then, I felt I was being watched. I heard a noise. My optics opened. I was on the ground, still lying against his chair, but now looking at Megatron.

"Did I wake you? My master asked, he softly spoke, "You look so peaceful when you sleep."

I briefly blushed. Hid it. Then, I rose to my feet.

Megatron asked, "Shadow, when I was in stasis, did you care if I lived or died? I've been noticing that not everyone has been loyal enough to want me alive."

I immediately responded, "Of course my Lord. I wanted you to wake up every day."

Megatron raised an eyebrow, and enquired, "Every day? Are you sure you aren't exaggerating? Maybe, you could possibly, elaborate?"

"On maybe the second day," I said with quickening speech, "I noticed that your brain activity increased when you were talked to. Since then, everyday, I went to your bedside and told you a story from the war."

Megatron seemed surprised, but he didn't deny it. "I have been in stasis for a while," he said. "How could you do it every day for so long? Did you ever lose hope? Did you ever—"

I interrupted Lord Megatron's line of questioning, "I hoped you could hear me," I confessed, "but, sometimes I wondered if I did it to pass the time. Whenever I had doubts, I looked at the positive trend in data and continued. Honestly, I didn't know if it even made a difference."

Megatron greeted me in a warm embrace. He affirmed, "Shadow, I could hear you. While you talked I joined you on every one of your adventures." My spark beat faster. Megatron continued to hold me in his warm hug. "Your efforts made all the difference in the world to me." I weakly pushed away from him. Megatron's dark spark had injured my chest plate, again. Megatron seemed hurt. He backed away... He gazed into my optics. It made me feel warm, even though his passionate once red optics were now a cold shade of purple.

Megatron put his arm around my shoulders. He walked me to my room.

 _Not again, no, not again._

Megatron opened my door.

 _Don't you dare._

"Sleep well Shadow," He said warmly, "I'll debrief with Soundwave in the morning. You should use this time to rest."

 _No. No. No. You said this before. You said we would catch up the next day. You said, you said, but then tomorrow never came. Mega—_

But he was already gone.

I got changed, hit metal under my sheets, moved the hidden items back to my drawer, and slept.

...

I woke up. I got changed. I re-hid my items. I looked in the mirror. My armor wasn't as bad as I thought. My Decepticon symbol was charred. Other than that, all was well. I walked to the command center. Megatron was surrounded. Breakdown, Snowstorm, Matrix, Soundwave, and Knockout were all trying to talk to him. Well, not Soundwave, Soundwave had debriefed earlier. I walked and stood at the outskirts of the group. Megatron noticed me, I did not move. I waited for the group to slowly disperse. I didn't want to impede. I didn't want to bother him. First Knockout and Breakdown left. Then Snowstorm and Matrix. When I couldn't not, I walked up to Soundwave and Megatron.

Megatron proudly stated, "Soundwave had told me all that you've done."

I looked down. _I did a lot of stuff._

Megatron lifted my chin with his finger and clarified, "You didn't do anything wrong. Although there were some necessary evils, your intent was pure."

Megatron recalled my damaged armor. He dropped his servo from my face. Soundwave signaled for Megatron to 'make a move'. He exchanged glances with his communications chief. Soundwave nodded.

Megatron straightened up, he boldly said, "Shadow, I know you're against taking a position of power -But, due to certain events- I believe, and Soundwave concurs that..." Megatron stared into my optics and paused. He looked away and continued, "Congratulations Commander Shadow."

My spark sunk. I wasn't sure whether to smile or cry. I was shocked. Honestly, I was. If nothing else, I was expecting something else... for him to say something, anything else. It almost felt as if I was being punished.

"I don't know what to say," I said. A blatant lie: A full truth.

Megatron said, "Accept the honor when I bestow it onto you at the ceremony," and then he walked away.

Soundwave asked me, "Shadow," he asked, "What are your first thoughts?"

I said, honestly, "Starscream's going to kill me."

Soundwave informed me, "He knows you have repaid your debt."

"Starscream?"

"No, Megatron."

"Oh, that makes more sense."

Soundwave continued, "Megatron will evaluate Snowstorm and Matrix later today."

I asked, "When will the ceremony be held?"

"Six days."

"..."

"He thought you acted well -did all the right moves- calling Tarn for example. I have informed him. Next time, come to me when you seek to make long distance communications."

The next few days went by like a blur. Megatron became more and more distant. He worried about his grasp of power. He gladly welcomed Ghost to our war-ship-home. She was always a great spy, even better for finding disloyalty among our own ranks. Like before, Megatron was obsessed with dark energon. Matrix and Snowstorm were evaluated well. Snowstorm was promoted to Megatron's tactical and general advisor. Ghost reported this back to her father. Matrix was promoted to head of ground troops. From this Ghost was exempt. Matrix was restricted to train the ground vehicons on how to fire better. With one on the field, and the other by his side, Megatron wanted to fully utilize both femmes. That left Ghost and I to our own devices. But, she was still a threat. I kept away from the bots.

I was not being paranoid. It was possible that I was being jealous. Today, we were sending troops on a mission. I saw Megatron in the Hanger; I tried to talk to him. I wanted to discuss possible groups and etcetera. I saw him, maybe 12 lengths in front of me.

I called out, "Lord Megatron, hold up." I paced quickly toward him.

Megatron continued walking, I think he actually sped up. It appeared so. Megatron had left my sight.

I walked to the command center. Megatron was talking with Snowstorm about battle plans. I joined them.

Megatron angrily asked me, "Don't you have somewhere to be?"

I apologized, "I'm sorry my Lord. I wasn't sure—"

Megatron cut in, annoyed, "Then you should ask Soundwave."

I tried to ask Megatron, "Should I ready the troops?"

He glared at me, "No!" He yelled, "Matrix leads the troops! Can't you see we're talking strategy here? Leave us!"

 _Matrix to vehicons. Starscream to seekers. Flying vehicons still open. Snowstorm to strategy. Soundwave for communication. Knockout to lab duties. Ghost as the temporary doctor. Breakdown assisting. There, it's proven, I have no place here._

I walked over to Soundwave. Megatron had been pushing me away. Between Matrix fighting in battle plus leading troops and Snowstorm advising him in plans: I felt replaced. Adding onto that, Megatron had actually been pushing me away, from him at least.

I asked Soundwave, "If I'm not supposed to help create plans, fight, or lead troops... Do you know what I am supposed to do?"

Soundwave answered in Megatron's voice, "Stay here, and don't get hurt."

I sarcastically replied, "Wonderful," I sighed, "Do you know if I will ever be able to help?"

Soundwave replied in Megatron's voice, "You are helping."

I clarified, "I meant fight or do something like that."

Soundwave thought and answered, "Technically Starscream is still commander. Megatron plans to send you both on a mission soon. It is meant to be a good transfer from his reign to yours: To teach you the basics and conclude his position of power with a success. While you both do that, we will be on a different mission with Snowstorm and Matrix."

"Can I ask that Ghost tag along? You know, for safety purposes incase Starscream, I don't know, reverts to his old self."

"Megatron has assured me the commander is under control."

"But, just to be safe."

"You do not have the power to make that request."

"I used to."

No response.

"If I'm actually useful, why does Megatron push me away?" I asked.

Soundwave told me the exact same thing that Snowstorm did. I hated the answer; it felt fake. He said, "Megatron does not want to hurt you."

Deception. If Megatron did not want to hurt me, why did he yell at me, ignore me, push me away, keep me from battle, replace me, take away my freedom, steal away what power I had left, force upon me responsibility, and enforce strict rules unto me? He lied. They all did. But, what could I do? Deception ran through their veins. Decepticons. It was in their name.

...

"If this is really bothering you," Ghost said, "then you should tell him."

"Why?" I asked, "So he can spit it back in my face? 'You're being unreasonable' he'd say, 'paranoid even'."

"Fine, don't do anything. Keep it all held up inside."

"And what good's that supposed to do?"

"Eventually he'll see it's affecting you, and he'll do something about it."

"Take me off the battlefield? Replace me completely?"

"If either were a possibility, then—"

"Then what?"

"You would be justified in your response."

"I am! I am justified! I am!"

"You're emotional."

"So?"

"Emotions are... complicated. Not as easy as right and wrong—"

"Rules and treachery?"

"Is there any other kind?"

"Sometimes the world just isn't that black and white."

"No, it's red and purple."

"And you truly believe that?"

"I believe what I was raised to believe. Just like you."


	11. Shadowzone

Shadowzone

"Do we have an understanding?"

"Yes, My Lord."

"Good. You are dismissed."

...

Silence. I stood around... waiting. Just, waiting. Their eyes skipped over me. A few times I would catch those who worried about themselves. Worried about what I thought. What I caught. What I could report about. It was like staring into a ginormous mirror. All I could think about were day-codes, and rules of conduct, how not do that labeled misconduct, how not to appear suspicious, how to be the good, the accepted, the right Decepticon. That was what killed me. That was what my existence boiled down to. I waited patiently, not in anyone's way, not in any way useful, I just existed... as a deterrent. I was, as my father always wanted me to be: a prime example for one to follow. And I hated it.

...

"Psychology?" The Shadow of Death asked.

"Psychotherapy." I replied. "Nickel says it really helps the cons back on the Peaceful Tyranny."

"Philosophy?"

" _Towards Peace_?"

"Tarn's favorite."

"It's a part to the whole."

"More, then?"

"Philosophical works aren't outlawed."

"Only discouraged."

"Not yours."

"You've—"

"Read them? Yes. Admired them? Quoted them? Used them to prove a point? At least one time per each."

"And... you thought they were good?"

"What I think doesn't matter. They are good."

"Thank you, Ghost. I can't tell you what that means to me."

"... You're welcome."

I had never been thanked before. Not really. I liked the feeling. I wanted more. I wanted to talk to her more.

...

"And your brothers?" I asked.

"Were always a source of competition for me."

"What was worth the struggle?"

"Looking back on it, nothing important."

"Superiority?"

"Pride, power, and my parents' respect."

"Parents?"

"The human word for creators."

"Humans? They inhabit this world, correct?"

"They are very similar to us."

"How?"

"Pain, fear, following rules... they do all of it."

"So, then, they are like _us_?"

"We all share something. Similarities are the dirt that underlie even the most steadfast of stone."

"You think we all want to be different?"

"I think some are more different than others, but that we're all the same underneath, no matter what we want to be."

"Cybertronian?"

"Not alone."

...

I enjoyed talking to the Shadow of Death. She was the only Decepticon I was comfortable communicating with. Most held ranks, which it would be socially unacceptable for me to barge up to without purpose and converse with. The rest would be so far below me, that to talk to them, meant dishonoring my "father's" teachings. The Shadow of Death was different, though. In her boredom, or sheer lack of having anything better to do, she would come to me. Or, perhaps I was mistaken. I was assigned to watch and guide commander Starscream through his recovery. It was never specified whether his recovery should be painful, painless, quick, or long and drawn out. I decided to be quick and successful. She came a few times. Checked on him. Sympathy? Perhaps. The commander was recharging whenever we talked. I don't think she remembers it: Any of it. But, even so, I enjoyed speaking with her. She gave me new words for my vocabulary, and ideas for my mind to ponder. She doesn't say too much, not at one time, at least. She knows that I follow rules; that I keep my word. With her, it's confidential. And with that I find no crime. Although it is odd that she prefers to keep this information from the audio receptors of our Lord, I suppose we all have things we'd rather not like for him to hear. Besides, I enjoy speaking about "subjects" with "Shadow". Talking with her helps me pass by any sorely hated time. But, time flies ever so slowly, and sometimes, I think my patience is wearing thin.

...

The wheezing sounds of my patient's pain-filled struggle for breath accompanied the metronomic beeps of his monitor. The commander's eyes were shut. Hours passed.

Lord Megatron entered the medical room unannounced. I was checking over my patient's charts at the time. Commander Starscream's optics opened wide, if only for an instant, before he calmed into his normal-deceptive state. My servos shook. I spent all of my concentration in steadying them as I handed my Lord the newest report. In summation, Starscream was almost healed. His outward appearance was still a bit banged up, but I was trained in making my patients healthier, not giving them the appearance of looking so.

The silence ran my spark on what the Shadow of Death would call a 'treadmill'. My Lord handed me back the chart, and moved towards commander Starscream. His loud steps clanged against the floor, ringing tremors across the room. I gripped the data pad as if my very life depended on it.

"Resting comfortably Starscream?" My Lord asked. "Despite the extent of your injuries, my medical staff assures me that you shall make a rapid recovery."

His intimidating tone froze the metal of my bones. Not even Starscream was immune. He pushed off the back of his berth in order to sit up straight, to avoid being frozen sedentary and talked down to.

The commander said, "Hopefully every bit as rapid as your wrath is swift," before he was cut off by his own pain filled coughs. My Lord chuckled as his commander grasped for air.

"And how swiftly things change," Megatron said. His tone shifted from pleasant to rough, "To think that but a short time ago _it was_ **you** _who was standing_ **here,** _while_ **I** _was lying_ **there.** _Right after your_ **failed attempt** _to_ **terminate me."**

Chills had consumed my nerves. I shook from deep inside my armor. I wanted nothing more than to go, than to leave, than to run away. But, none of that would be possible. Not jittery nerves, or a cold core. I was to be stuck doing my duty. If fear ran me cold, I would have to freeze myself to my spot. To my position. To whatever job my father had thought best for me.

"But, know this dear Starscream," Megatron continued, "Our positions shall never again be reversed." The air parted for my Lord as he walked to the door. Every clanging step sent my spark to beat faster.

He was almost to the door... Just a few more paces...

"Ghost," I froze as my Lord called my name, "I require your assistance."

My digits nearly broke through the metal of my data pad. My 'hands' weren't even clawed. That's how tightly I was gripping the device. I forced my statue-like legs to move. The door to the medical room closed behind me as I met my Lord out in the hall.

I attempted to calm my nerves. "Y-Yes, Lord Megatron?" I asked.

"At ease scout," my Lord said. "I need your continued surveillance of Starscream."

"Of course my Lord."

"If he so much happens to look in the wrong direction, extinguish his spark."

I gulped, "Excuse me, my Lord," I stammered, "But how would I know—

"You have had experience with traitors in the past. You know what they look like."

 _But, every one of them looked different. They_ _ **were**_ _different._

"If his actions remind you in any way of that of a traitor..."

"Extinguish his spark."

"Good. Continue updating Soundwave regularly."

I nodded.

He started to walk away... started.

"One more thing," my Lord said, "tomorrow Starscream will go on a mission with Shadow. Be sure not to let him out of your sight."

...

 _Who was I, talking to Lord Megatron? One-on-0ne no less. Him, giving me, furthering my previous mission. A private mission. A classified mission._ One I didn't want to fail.

Thoughts such as these circled my head as I stood in the shadows behind Starscream. He stood at the grave of "the mighty Skyquake." His words, not mine. None of the present made sense. The commander held a shard of dark energon: a powerful thing of legend. He planned to use it to re-animate Skyquake, and make the fallen Decepticon into a warrior once more. For what purpose, I could not easily tell. I considered taking a few measly steps, activating my claws, and stabbing a hole through his spark chamber. But, something stopped me from doing so. Some part of me did not want to kill him. That same part wanted to convince me that the commander was acting in Megatron's best interest, so that he could recover a once valuable warrior. Another part of me knew that that was a lie. Probably a lie. I did not want to end a life based on a probably.

Starscream broke the shard in two. He threw a half of dark energon into the dirt, and plunged the other fragment into his chest. The ground glowed purple, along with Starscream's optics.

"Yes!" Starscream moaned, "Power of dark energon, be mine!" Purple energy radiated off of him now, as if he had been consumed by purple flames. "Symbiosis," he screamed with maniacal laughter, "I can feel it!"

An energy field opened up in the distance. Nothing I could see, but something I could feel. I retreated a few steps and hid behind the corner of the canyon. I peeked my head out from the large rock formation. I was not yet found.

Five Autobots entered the canyon's stretch shared by Starscream.

"Rise Skyquake, rise!" The commander screamed.

The ground below him rumbled, without fist rising out with reanimated body attached. The ground simply shook with rocks atop it.

The leader of the Autobot-scum drew his blaster. "Starscream!" he called.

"Autobots!" Starscream yelled back.

The Prime said in a bad *ss tone, "Stand down," as he pointed his long barreled blaster at the commander.

Starscream pointed his missile-stocked arm back at the Prime, "You stand down," he said as he fired his rocket.

The Autobots dove behind rocks, and the missile exploded in black space.

"You cannot harm me while dark energon flows through my veins!" The commander gloated.

In less than an earth-second the Prime leaned out from behind his rock, aimed, and shot a laser that detached the commander's arm from his socket.

Smoke enveloped the commander's stub. Starscream sprinted the twenty lengths to his arm, grabbed it, and hid behind a large rock.

The Autobots chatted with each other in encouraging and fighting tones. They moved from behind their cover and advanced.

Five on one: certain death.

A purple fog rose from the ground beneath the commander. "Come on, come on, rise already!" Starscream yelled.

The Autobots slowed and prepared to fire.

"This is commander Starscream," the commander COM'd, "requesting emergency ground bridge to my coordinates."

A retreat.

The Autobots continued their advance.

Silence...screaming? A screech of some sort? A tiny voice got the attention of the Autobot scum, and they stopped their retreat.

Two ground bridges opened up; One near the commander, and the other near the enemy.

"You three!" The old-white Autobot yelled, "Into our ground bridge, now!"

Three specks in the distance followed the old mech's orders.

Starscream ran out from behind his cover and flew into his.

Chatter: I wasn't sure what to do. _If I ran out from my cover, the Autobot-scum might catch me, and my position would no longer be secretive. But, say they didn't catch me... I am rather stealthy. That is possible. If I ran straight into the ground bridge, what would happen? Would the commander find out? That I was trailing him? Hmmm... Perhaps, maybe if I snuck into the portal and waited, not for long, just long enough so that Starscream wouldn't be on the other side. Okay. Solid plan. Go... now!_

I ran into the green swirling vortex. Something was off. The gravitational field seemed different, as if it was collapsing in on itself somehow. I transformed and speeded as fast as I could to the exit, but the pull of some invisible force held me back. I rotated my wheels as fast as possible, but I did not move any closer to the goal. The force was getting stronger, and stronger, and stronger. I was sling shot back, for a single moment the gravity ceased to exist and all of time slowed down. Then the walls came crashing in, and the green light consumed me.

The next day:

A knock at my door woke me up. I got out of bed, walked over and opened it.

Snowstorm greeted me, "Good morning Shadow."

"'Morning Snowstorm," I said back.

Snowstorm looked around suspiciously. No one was there. Or at least, no one could be seen. We still had a ghost onboard. Or, at least I thought she was onboard.

Snowstorm informed me, "Today, the vehicons should be checking your room. This is customary for the new Commander. They're just checking for incriminating evidence about you being a traitor. Which is obviously preposterous."

 _Not Ghost. Vehicons. Doesn't go to the DJD. If Screamy could pass, then it must be easy..._

"Good?" I questioned.

"I'll see you in a few days. We're leaving soon. Good luck on your mission." She left.

I went back into my own room. I got changed and hid the picture in a compartment on my armor. I put the damaged armor in a remote drawer as if to say that I did not care about it. I tidied up and left for the command center. I kept on thinking back to how I should have just thrown the fragged thing away.

 _It's too late. It's too late. I'm too far away. If I go back, I'm going to be late. There's nothing, now, that I can do._

Starscream was not there [in the command center]; however, Megatron, Soundwave, Snowstorm, and Matrix were. The group acknowledged me when I walked through the door. I walked up to the group. Megatron was talking to Soundwave and Snowstorm. He had the warmest hue of red in his eyes. I wanted to be near him, even if he had a really unwelcoming presence. My gaze shifted to the ground. I had to look away. His arm was sliced all the way through. It looked painful. I did not want to bring it up. Matrix was on the outskirts of the group, half paying attention to what the group was talking about.

Matrix turned to me and asked, "You ready for your mission?"

I replied, "Yeah. But I don't know where Starscream is."

Megatron roared at me, "He's in the Hanger! Can't you see we're doing something here? Leave!"

I didn't give staying a second thought. I felt so replaced by the two new femmes. Not so much replaced as unneeded and unwanted by Megatron. I wondered if this was a weird form of punishment. _Probably not._ Megatron didn't do mental torture. I sighed and left for the Hanger. Starscream was waiting for me there with three seekers.

Starscream greeted, "Hello Shadow, shall we go?"

I nodded. Starscream looked different. I asked, "New arm?"

Starscream angrily mumbled something to himself. We transformed and flew to the Arctic. The seekers picked up traces of the object. We landed.

Once I transformed, Starscream advised me, "First piece of advise. When in places like the arctic, retrieving an object that will draw out the Autobots; always have a quick way to flee. You should pull up your wings."

I nodded, "Thank you Starscream."

My wings rose behind my swords. Since I had two vehicular forms, whenever would not be using one of them, I would usually retract all external, unneeded, appendages. So, when I fought, neither my wheels, nor my wings would be visible. They were typically retracted in my armor. The pros usually outweighed the cons. Hah! It might have taken a few more seconds to transform, but there were also fewer places my enemy could aim for, and damage me if they hit.

The seekers started digging for the item. They found it soon after. It had an odd essence of energy emanating from it. The item was frozen to the bottom of the vehicons' tiny tunnel.

A ground bridge opened. Bumblebee and Bulkhead ran out of it.

Starscream called to me, "You stop the Wrecker, I'll take on the scout."

I engaged my mask and drew my swords. I ran at Bulkhead. He swung his wrecking ball; I dodged and swung back. Bulkhead dodged and kicked at me. I was propelled a length backward. I regained my balance and ran back at him. Out of nowhere a laser grazed my head. It did not harm me, but it hit my COM link, which was placed on the side of my mask. Bulkhead stopped fighting and looked over at Starscream. In this very moment I felt much hatred for that mech. Bumblebee was running back towards the Autobots' groundbridge with the item. Starscream fired a rocket at the scout, destroying the object and sending Bumblebee back into the portal. I allowed Bulkhead to retreat. I did not put away my swords. I turned my attention toward the commander. A missile was closing in. I quickly fell to the ground in an attempt to dodge, but I was too late. The missile greatly damaged one of my wings. _I should have fled._

When I got up, I was alone. I walked over to the dig site. Bumblebee had killed all three vehicons. It seemed that Starscream didn't even attempt to fight the scout. He was just trying to get a good aim at me. I put a finger up to my audio receptor, and tried to contact base. My COM was down. I rolled my shoulders and sighed. I was very cold. I scanned the area and found a human outpost a ways off from my position. I could not drive on this snow and ice. Ghost could, but I wasn't like her. I walked through the bitter cold and cruel wind bursts. It was growing dark.

I muttered to myself, "Fragged wind. Scrap this cold. Megatron and Starscream are probably sitting warm in the Nemesis right now. Who needs Megatron and Starscream anyway? Not me. Nope."

I spotted the human base in the distance. I was almost too cold to move. I got out the picture Miko had drawn me. I burnt it and warmed myself briefly with the flame. It was really more mental than anything else, but still. I struggled to move to the base. But, I pushed through the wind and snow. It took a while, but I finally arrived at the human base. The base itself was a large building next to a small human dwelling. I broke through the wall into the building. There were a few humans inside; they ran away. I had to work quickly; no doubt the humans were calling their government or someone to get rid of me.

I found a large computer that was connected to a screen. I remembered what Soundwave had taught me. I reconfigured and toyed with the computer. I transformed it into a communications link. I called the Nemesis. The screen turned on, this would be a video communication. I waited for this device to connect with the ship. I looked at myself. My armor was covered with frost.

Starscream picked up the other side of my call. He stood in front of Soundwave's communications monitor. Starscream was wide eyed, he exclaimed terrified, "Shadow! You're alive?"

I weakly told the traitor, "Starscream, send me a bridge out of here."

"I don't understand how this is possible!" The traitor cried, "How are you still alive? I aimed at both your head and your spark chamber!"

"You missed, twice." _Or I dodged twice._ "Can you please put someone else on?"

"Someone else?" Starscream thought for a moment and almost wept, "Lord Megatron is going to extinguish my spark when he finds out!"

I could feel my life signal fading, I faintly called out, "Starscream, please—"

Silence. And in the silence, he thought. Once he was done, the commander smiled deviously and said, "Lord Megatron isn't here at the moment. I'm sorry Shadow, but you're going to have to speak up."

I pleaded with Starscream, "If you get me out of here, No one will ever hear of this. I will not take action against you. I will not seek revenge, I promise."

"Lord Megatron isn't here right now. No one will know of this call, Shadow. No one will care."

Starscream wasn't going to help. He was too power hungry to think of ways his plan could backfire. I executed a last resort. Earlier, I had set up a way for this call to be saved onto Soundwave's computer, the one connected to the monitor Starscream was currently using. I input a code and it was done, I just had to stall. I decided if I were going down, I'd take Starscream with me.

I begged, "Please Starscream. I won't be able to last until nightfall in this cold."

Starscream looked at my frost bitten armor, he laughed, "You are worried about lasting? You would never have lasted, here or there. Haven't you gotten the memo Shadow? You've been replaced. We don't need you any more."

I felt energon well up in my optics. I knew he was just being mean. Trying to get to me. But, some part of me believed him. I knew that he was telling the truth. I brushed the energon away. I did not want it to freeze and blind me.

The human screen alerted me that my maneuver had been completed. As soon as Soundwave would return from his mission and sign in to his workstation monitor, he would see the recording of this call. It would start at the beginning and end when this ends. I just wanted to make sure that I didn't say anything stupid, and milk this glitch for the worst he could say.

I begged once more, "Starscream please. You don't have to do this."

Starscream cackled. He proclaimed, "Shadow, this is what you get for trying to take power away from me! Just think, with you gone, I'll be Megatron's undisputed second in command, and... ooh, do you know how lucky you are? You are currently speaking to the future Lord of the Decepticons."

"Starscream," I said, "I never wanted your power. You can kill me, just leave Megatron alone."

"Goodbye Shadow. Have fun freezing to death!"

The commander hung up. I smiled. He was doomed. All that needed to happen was for Soundwave to sign in. That was it. I imagined what that would look like. Soundwave would find this video. He would watch it and then alert Lord Megatron. Starscream would walk over and join them. The look on Starscream's face would be priceless. My smirk widened. Ghost would be around, she always was. She'd see it too. Then, then she'd tell Tarn, by then Scrmy wld b n de dth lst nd...

Everything around me started to go dark. I fell over with exhaustion. I could feel nothing but the cold. It was so cold: So very cold. I stared out of the hole I had made in the wall. The snow looked peaceful. I closed my optics and blacked out.

Yesterday:

It took a while for the dust to settle. I could barely feel my frame. All my metal felt like magma turned to stone. On fire, yet heavy, stable, compact in its pain. The only thing not my own was a large metal obstruction lying atop me. I transformed and sent it flying... right through an Autobot. _Odd. A dream? I'm in pain... a nightmare, perhaps?_

I slowly rose to my feet. My head felt light. My vision seemed different. Clearer. Like every particle in the air was mine to grasp, like every object in existence was tangible, not just there, but there for me. I took another step and examined the Autobot group. I could see them, through them: the metal that made them up, the material they were, the matter that existed. I felt that, if I were to reach out to touch them, my hand would rip them apart.

But, but something was off. Why hadn't they noticed me? Why couldn't they see me? The five walked towards my position. My spark beat faster. My vision faded. Everything turned a dull gray. I felt myself fade... fade through them. Or, maybe I was the object, and they the ghosts. Motionless, I felt myself nothing as they passed.

My hearing returned. The three meat-sacked specks from before were yelling, yelling, yelling at the Autobots behind me. I turned around to face a giant. This must have been the "Skyquake" that Starscream had mentioned earlier. He was a large green flier with dark energon revived veins. My vision returned. His entire essence gave off dark energon. He was clearer than before, but not as much as the Autobots. I could see best things that were not, not the same material. Not the same as me. This one was.

Skyquake took a few swipes at the Autobot-scum. His arms swooshed right through his targets. He stood dumbfounded. The Autobots left through a ground bridge. I noticed the screaming again from behind me. Those tiny flesh-creatures grew increasingly annoying. I think they denoted the word "zombie" to the re-animated warrior. And then he turned around. Slowly, steadily, with no fear, no caution, no spark, just bottomless purple optics and violence-hungry claws.

His pedes moved in my direction. He was shambling toward me. There was something about it, something that wasn't alive, no emotion, no sympathy, just an black hole, a vacant, dead vacuum. I couldn't move. He was a few paces away. I fell. A few steps. I backed up. Metal spine struck by jagged stone. His arm, his claw, sharp edges swung down at my head. Eyes closed. Spark beating. Nothing. I felt my metal go through his. Relief. I opened my eyes. My vision was lessened. He swung again. Hit. I was thrown across the valley, crashed against slate, and fell to the ground. He came at me again. My arms shook. My stomach quivered. My legs were as the stone. I could not move. The ground thundered. I covered my face with what arm I could muster to hold. My sight was clear. I could see how they shook, how the particles parted, how invisible we all were. His claw came again. I clenched my eyes shut.

Again, nothing. I kept them shut. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Just swooshes. Eyes open. Swoosh. Spark beat slowed, vision returned to normal. Clang! I could feel the energon dripping down my chest. The puddle wetted my legs. Arms energized, claws activated, I slashed back... hit. It hit. I hit. He swung again. I rolled out of the way, rose, and kicked the "zombie" to the ground.

Weak. I was growing weak. My head hurt. My morale lessened. I no longer felt like fighting. A few hits in, and I was already done. Although it was odd, I was too fatigued to question it. I created a COM link to Soundwave. Static. Nothing. Gone. Anger. I stared into the eyes of the beast as he lunged. Clear vision. COM.

"Coordinates... defective signal... fading in and out," I heard. I had only caught a portion of what he said. I was too tired to hear, and not motivated enough to try. With this vision, this impermeableness to shadows of matter, came a drainage too much for me to bear.

I no longer cared to hear the voice of the chief communications officer. My vision left me, and his words turned back to static. I no longer cared for any of them. I had no empathy. I had no feeling. No feelings other than pain and fatigue. I was done with them. All of them. Three swift hits. The zombie lost its right arm, collapsed under his weight, and would be unable to rise. He bled. Bled. Bled purple sludge. I felt nothing.

The arm was gone. I heard screams. The screams of the fleshlings. I gave no mind. No part of my cared. The deceased reached out for my 'foot'. I kicked it. It grabbed on. I shook, nothing. I frowned. I didn't care enough to think. I grabbed Starscream's fallen arm and hit the "zombie" with it. I was freed. I glared. Frowned.

Starscream was back again. Nothing. I felt nothing. Another green swirling vortex appeared. The "zombie" reached again for my foot. I fired the missile at it. The explosion caused it to tumble out of the portal. Movement behind me. Three insects and a fallen arm, using its fingers to propel itself like an animal. My vision returned. Starscream's arm fell through my hand. It was of a material I could not grasp. I saw my reflection in the armor of the zombie that lay atop the commander. I walked through the portal. I was no longer seen. The humans followed. The arm flew right through me and crashed into its cadaver. The "zombie" re-attached the limb. The vortex collapsed.

A second ground bridge appeared.

The Autobot leader spoke, "Jack, Miko, Rafael," I assumed to the meat-sacks.

Starscream struggled under the cadaver, "Autobots! Again?" he yelled. "Requesting emergency ground bridge now!"

I remember walking through the portal. I got somewhere in a long, metal hallway, before my vision faded again. But, this time, it really faded... to black.

Two days ahead:

I regained consciousness, but kept my optics closed. It was no longer cold. I was no longer cold; aside for the metal berth I lay on. I heard loud clunks and light chatter. I recognized the voices. I turned my head towards the noise and opened my optics.

Miko screamed, "Shadow! You're awake!"

 _Human. Human? Warm? Metal?_ I put it all together. _I'm in the Autobot base._

My head was ringing. I softly said, "Miko, you're really loud."

I could hear more movement. I moved my servos. I noticed I could move. I wasn't restrained. I sat up, and then pushed off the berth's surface. I landed on my peds. My legs felt weak. I fell to the ground. I was on my servos and knees. I pushed to get up. I got to a position of one knee and a straight back. I slowly pushed up again. I stood for an instant, I felt as if I were to fall again. I grabbed the berth for support.

During this procedure I had ignored my surroundings. But, my surroundings hadn't ignored me. On my ground level: Optimus, Ratchet, Bulkhead, Striker, Arcee, and Bumblebee had me surrounded. Next to me on the [catwalk] human walking platform, Miko, Jack, and Raf stood by the railing.

My arms felt weak. They were shaking. I fell to the ground. I didn't try to get up this time. I leant against the berth/medical table I had woken on.

Jack asked, "Shadow, are you alright?"

"I have never felt this weak in my life," I said. I kept my sight to the ground. I could tell everyone was looking at me. I didn't like it.

Raf comforted me, "Everything will be fine," he said. But, he didn't feel as weak.

Ratchet agreed with the boy, "Hmm, yes. Rafael is right. You are simply low on energon."

My gaze did not shift. I was fed up, mainly with myself. I leant my head back against the wall of the berth. My optics were closed, if they were not, I would be staring at the ceiling.

"Shadow," Jack requested, "promise you won't be angry at me for what I'm about to say."

I sighed, "I won't be angry. I'm too tired to be angry."

Jack continued, "Good. Because we told the Autobots everything."

 _Wait, everything? How much is everything? Bah, too many words. F*ck. I'm too tired to think._

"Fine."

Miko questioned, "Don't you have anything to say? Anything to display at all! Any 'how dare you!' or 'Thank you'?"

"I just survived an assassination attempt, am extremely weak, and I am having a hard time processing the current situation. Please have patience."

I was silent. No one moved or made a noise. This went on for a while.

"Well we survived a zombie!" Miko yelled, "I don't care what! Just say something!"

"I'm sorry Miko." I said. "In the Arctic, I burnt your picture for warmth."

 _Mental warmth. It really didn't do much._

Bulkhead asked, "What happened out there? I saw Starscream fire at you, but nothing else."

"It was cold," I answered, "Starscream destroyed my COM and clipped my wing. He left me to die. No one will care though. I was replaced. I was demoted."

Optimus asked, "Demoted? Given Megatron's past and yours, that does not seem likely."

Jack added on, "Yeah Shadow, what Optimus said. What happened?"

I stated lowly, "Commander: Starscream's wretched title. That's what happened."

"I hate to be the barer of bad news," Bulkhead said, "But, that isn't a demotion, that's a promotion."

I opened my optics. I looked at the Wrecker with sad eyes, "Trust me, it's not. I know more about the inner-workings of the Decepticons than you. Take my word for it."

Arcee asked sassily, "Could you tell us of these inner-workings?"

I turned my head to look at Arcee. I questioned, "An interrogation?" I thought back to Wheeljack and to his funny banter. I then thought back to how the Decepticons dealt with interrogations. Starscream was cruel. They were all so cruel. I was nothing to them, to him. Megatron didn't even want me. I told the Autobots, "I'll answer anything you want. Just don't send me back there. I don't want to go back."

 _Bad choice of words. Unless it wasn't. It might have been._

Miko jumped up and down and fist pumped the air. Raf cheered and high fived Jack. Some of the Autobots did not believe me, or if they did, they did not understand why.

"Why?" Bumblebee asked, "Commander is a good rank. Why don't you want to go back?"

"Megatron." I answered, "The dark energon is affecting him in a bad way. It changed him more than I thought possible."

It seemed as if Optimus cared about this subject. He inquired, "How did the dark energon change Megatron?"

I rested my head again and looked at the ceiling, "Megatron's different. Before he would consider peace. He had a supposed moral conscience. Now, he—" I took a deep breath, "It is hard to explain, but he's more cruel, more evil."

Ratchet agreed with Bumblebee. He asked again, "What other reason keeps you from returning? We've all known Megatron to be evil, regardless of dark energon. Besides, Commander does seem like a good position to keep. Plenty of respect."

The humans glared at the doctor.

"I don't need another reason. Megatron was the reason I joined."

Bulkhead asked, "So you're one of those cons who joined with Megatron's revolution, you followed his power."

I denied the allegation, "No. I was an Autobot from the beginning. Megatron saved my life in battle. This was before Megatron led the Decepticons. Before Prime led the Autobots."

Arcee asked, "That was your life debt?"

I answered, "Yes." I felt sad. I didn't know why; I had just beaten death.

Optimus offered, "You can still join the Autobots."

"We wouldn't fight in battle," Striker said, "Unless we're on the same side, or sparing." The other creatures expressed their disgust for Striker's failed joke.

I felt too tired to do anything. I couldn't even move my arms. I could no longer sit back against the berth. I fell over. I did not bother trying to move again. I could see the Autobot's feet.

I weakly stated, "Then, I'll join."

The human children ran down to my head. Miko caught how dim my eyes had become.

Raf pointed out, "Ratchet, Shadow doesn't look so good."

Ratchet stated, "She just needs some rest and energon. She'll be fine tomorrow."

I powered down.


	12. Operation Breakdown

Operation Breakdown

Day of the Zombie's rise:

My head hurt. My eyes were shut. Everything felt loose, free, snug, as if I was floating in a lucid dream-state. Submerged underneath a sea waking thoughts. Images, broken, fractured scenes played, some on repeat. Annoyance: the feeling of annoyance. Starscream was there. Restraint. No restraint. No care. No thought of consequence. No thought of hierarchy: Absence of order. Everything appeared clearly, so clearly to my optics it was as if I had been blind every minute before and every moment after. Blinding slashes engulfed the scene. Then nothing: The absence of being. I sliced right through him, as if he was nothing, and nothing but scrap lay on the ground. Skyquake's remains, now nothing but scrap. Eyes opened. Wide-eyed. I didn't like the attention. I- it was almost as if I had just disappeared.

...

"... most of her injuries..."

 _That voice..._

"... uncertain battle..."

 _Where do I know that voice from..._

"... But, the worst were self-sustained..."

 _Whatever it is, it is annoying... Why... Why can't I move? Am I dead? Urgh. No. Too much pain. Ah, uh, AAAAHHHHH!_

"She's seizing!"

 _Darkness... Redness... Pain filled wails... This is not death... What I want is death._

...

Day of Shadow's mission:

I crashed to the floor.

"Wake Up!"

 _New voice._

Slammed into the wall. Clunked against the floor.

"Wake—"

 _My claw, I can—_

 **Slash**

Megatron's arm fell to the ground. Ghost is kicked into another far wall.

 _Sweet relief... The pain... The physical pain distracts me from what's mental. It must be... It- it..._

Everything began to fade again into painful darkness.

 _Maybe this time I won't wake up... then this slag would be done with._

...

I was restrained to a cold, medical table... Perhaps on an examining table? I could move neither my arms nor my legs from their cuffs. The lasers seared my symbiotic flesh when I attempted to free myself of them.

"Rise and shine, outlier," the first voice said again, "You have an entire day full of testing to look forward to."

I was in a lab. Cold metal. Plain design. Cabinets. Beakers. Sharp equipment. Counters. This examining table was just one of the attractions. I knew the layout, I didn't know how, but I did. All without opening my eyes. While closed, this could all still be a nightmare: Maybe even a huge misunderstanding.

The shriek of an electric drill invaded my audio receptors. Electric. Energon. Dark energon? Its point pierced the biometric flesh of my palm. My body came alive. I remember loud cries accompanying my flailing limbs. I could not hold still. Not until I felt nothing again. And then it stopped. And I was on the ground.

"Interesting result," the doctor said, "Extreme pain causes intangibility." And a broken drill that lay beside me. I materialized. My digits couldn't stop twitching as energon flowed atop of them.

I opened my optics and I ran for the door.

"Oh, nurse," Knockout called.

Breakdown stood in my path. There—there was no way out. No, no way, no way, I dropped to my knees, fell through the floor, and blacked out.

...

The day of the higher ups return:

"It's an interesting ability for sure."

"Yes. But, how soon can she be out in the field to scout?"

"Out in the field?" The doctor shook his head, "My dear Lord, I don't think she'll be able to go out any time soon."

"And why not?"

"The pain."

"Pain? She can't handle measly pain?"

"It's enough to rip sparks in two. That and the fatigue from her ability causes her to be unpredictable."

"Predict it then."

"An outward projection of pain is expected."

"She'll be better on the field."

"If you think irrationally ripping anyone and everyone to shreds constitutes better..."

"Fine, we'll send her out alone."

"She's still a danger to herself. I did say anyone, didn't I?"

"Agh!" Megatron punched through one of the thick metal walls with his good arm. "We don't have the time for this!"

"Accept death Mega—"

A loud plasma blast destroyed every piece of equipment on a counter top.

"I need a scout!"

...

The days blurred, oh, how they blurred. I was confined to the lab mostly. Fear. Fatigue. Pain. Repeat. My only comfort came from the screams that belonged to another. The only empathy I could feel: The only connection. Megatron had my story. I was a failure. He blamed me. This was my punishment. Punishment. Punishment until it proved successful. Until I could be counted on. He thought that day would be glorious. I received no further contact from him after one particular death stare and a threat. If it weren't for what I couldn't control, I was sure he would have attacked me. "Put me in my place".

Today, right now, I was rubbing my wrists. I was unrestrained. I was done. Knockout got all he could out of me for the day. It was under the commander's orders that I may return to my room. Not an enemy. He was re-instated. Must have been slag for him as well. So, I walked. And when I got there, I closed my door, and I locked it. The pain had never ceased. All I wanted was blackness, a loss of consciousness.

...

 **Shadow**

I had been an Autobot for a few days now. I had not left the base. I had not contacted the Decepticons. The team had gotten to know me some. Miko had been begging me to take her for a ride. Optimus kept me within his sight most of the time. I enjoyed lounging lazily around, talking with the others, exchanging stories, listening to music, and playing videogames with the humans.

We were all in the main area of the base. Ratchet was repairing Bulkhead.

Optimus told the Wrecker, "Engaging the enemy on your own was foolish, Bulkhead."

 _Hahaha haha ha._ I mentally laughed to myself. Fighting alone is exactly the thing I'd get yelled at for.

Bulkhead defended himself, "Breakdown jumped me. I knew I could take him." Bulkhead groaned from the pain of being repaired.

Ratchet told his patient to, "Stay still" as he welded Bulkhead's arm.

Miko pounded her fists and exclaimed, "But we should see the other guy! Right Bulk?" Miko leaned excitedly against the railing.

Bulkhead said, "About that..."

Miko asked surprised, "You didn't torch him?"

"Not exactly," Bulkhead explained, "I- I figured you all did." He gestured to us.

Miko understood, she sadly said, "oh."

Bulkhead looked down, and then at Miko, he admitted, "When I came to... Breakdown was just gone." Bulkhead looked down, away from his human friend, "I remember hearing a copter." He looked back at Miko and said, "Maybe it was agent Fowler."

Fowler denied, "Not me. But, I have an idea who." He demanded, "Show me where this Con-napping occurred."

"Con-napping," I muttered to myself and laughed, "Fowler, you are too funny."

Ratchet brought up the world map on his monitor. He signaled in on a location and stated, "This is where we picked up Bulkhead."

Fowler said, "The Kamchatka peninsula in Eastern Russia. Much of it was abandoned twenty years ago when its volcano first erupted. My Intel reported MECH activity earlier today."

Miko questioned, "MECH? You mean those tech-y guys?"

Ratchet confirmed, "The very ones who know of our existence on your planet."

Bulkhead said, "They must have tracked one of us there."

"But," Miko asked, "what would they want with Breakdown?"

Arcee didn't care, she sassily said, "What's it matter? They can have him."

I defended, "Arcee's partly right. What does it matter? We should go help him."

Striker shot me a death glare. She's trying to institute a "femmes before mechs" policy. I guess she doesn't like me hurting that. Or, I am just overthinking it. She could just not like Cons. How would I know what her reason was? Bots can be so mellow dramatic.

Bumblebee beeped, "But how did Breakdown get dragged off by humans, anyway?"

Bulkhead smugly replied, "Dragged off by humans," he pounded his fists together "guess I softened him up for them, huh."

Miko looked at her friend then turned away and disagreed, "Nyeh."

Optimus commanded, "Ratchet, reactivate the previous ground bridge coordinates. We will rescue Breakdown."

"Yes!" I exclaimed.

Ratchet freaked, he asked angrily, "What!?"

Arcee asked, "Optimus, you can't be serious?"

Bumblebee agreed, "Why would we save him?"

I responded, "Why should we let the humans keep him? Bee, what if it were you?"

Bulkhead disagreed, he reasoned, "Mech can melt him down for all I care. Let the Cons rescue their own!"

Optimus brushed off Bulkhead's response. He explained, "It is not likely that Megatron would bother with an errand of mercy."

I nodded, but decided to keep quiet. I only recently left the Cons.

Arcee placed her servo on her chin, she said, "Okay," She opened her servo and gestured, "But this is Breakdown we're talking about."

I restated, "Doesn't matter. We shouldn't let MECH benefit through harming a cybertronian. If we don't stop them, they'll just do it again."

Optimus stood tall and proclaimed; "Sometimes we must rise above ourselves for the greater good."

Bulkhead shouted, "Oh, what's that supposed to mean? Breakdown's going to be grateful and go all soft and join the cause?"

I glared at Bulkhead. I asked, "So, one has to be soft to join the Autobots?"

"Oh come on!" He yelled, "Breakdown? He wouldn't join us unless we were his last resort, and even then he wouldn't be doing it for the good reasons!"

I mustered the best death glare I could for him.

Optimus played peacekeeper. He stepped lightly, and tried to rephrase the words of his hardheaded teammate, "While it is unlikely that any Decepticon will choose the path of good," Optimus said, "Even they possess the potential for change."

I face palmed. Anger emanated from me. Did they realize I was standing here? Well, yes. But, they weren't acknowledging me fully.

Well, Arcee did. At the very least she didn't want me to be pissed in fighting condition around them. She said, "Shadow, you were an Autobot before a Decepticon. So, you don't count."

I muttered slurs beneath my breath.

Bulkhead was a little mentally late to the party. He growled, "Nyeh! I knew where this was headed!"

 _Now we're backtracking, great._

Optimus clarified, "By greater good, I meant human kind."

Bulkhead shook his head in anger.

Optimus said, "MECH presents a clear and present danger."

Fowler agreed and insulted Bulkhead, "Prime's right two ton. MECH is obsessed with obtaining ground breaking technology."

Optimus expounded, "Which means we cannot allow cybertronian biology to fall into their hands."

I asked, "So then, when do we leave to go save Breakdown?"

Optimus clarified, "Shadow, you should stay here. It is unclear if you have fully recovered yet."

 _Oh come on! That's so mean! You're being just like Megatron!_

"It's a trust thing, right?" Striker asked. " 'Cause all I'm saying, is if we're fighting to save a Con, we might as well have one with us incase anything goes wrong."

"Cannon fodder?" I asked.

"It is not a trust thing," Optimus said. "Shadow is your teammate, Striker. She is an Autobot, past or not, and should be treated as such."

 _And this is where the Decepticon troops would dissent into madness, anarchy even... I'll wait for it._

"All I'm saying is another fighter'd be nice."

 _Because you're down one._

Ratchet opened the ground bridge.

 _Down one... That means a higher probability of failure. Breakdown might die, and they might be injured. But, I'm not. I'll be fine._

I angrily yelled at the other Bots, "It's MECH! All I have to do is avoid their little devices that one hit KO technology and I'll be fine."

Ratchet worriedly asked, "They have what?!"

Miko happily said, "I'll translate these human terms for you Ratch. If MECH hits you with one of their devices, you'll get knocked out."

Arcee said, "Just don't get hit with their devices. Great!"

Bumblebee asked, "So what do these devices look like?"

I answered and made the dimensions with my servos, "They are these tiny circular, puck-like metal objects. They are about the size of a human hand, and they are fired from guns."

Miko exclaimed, "Cool!" She walked over to Bulkhead and plead, "Come on Bulk! You gotta go with!"

Bulkhead whined, "Don't wanna!"

Optimus demanded, "Bulkhead."

Bulkhead explained, "Optimus I'm sorry. I just can't do it!"

Optimus complied, "I support your choice."

 _Great, now we're down two. Frack._

Miko and Bulkhead were surprised. In unison they cried out, "Wh-wh-what?!"

Optimus continued, "Given your history with Breakdown, your judgment may be clouded," Optimus pointed at Bulkhead, "And thus jeopardize the mission." Optimus looked at Ratchet, "Besides. The Decepticon may be in more need of a medic than of another warrior."

 _You're taking a medic in place of two fighters? Great plan, all-powerful leader._

Ratchet walked up to the group holding some item. He announced, "Locked and loaded Optimus."

Optimus signaled to his team. "Autobots," He commanded, "Rollout!"

The Autobots got a running start before transforming and driving into the portal. Once they were through, the portal went dark.

Bulkhead stated sarcastically, "Fine! Happy hunting."

Miko sighed angrily.

Bulkhead turned to face his friend. She looked sad. Bulkhead offered, "Uh, what do you say?" He made a pose with his arms and asked nervously, "Creature double feature?"

Miko half-heartedly said, "Sure."

Agent Fowler got excited. He exclaimed, "Waoh! I'm in!"

I was farther than just annoyed. I paced the base. I could not just stay here while my friend was being held captive! _Who knew what they could be doing to him? He could be in pain. He could be tortured, right now. I couldn't deal with that. What kind of monster would torture an innocent –well, not so innocent- cybertronian?_

Bulkhead and Fowler started the movie. Five minutes in, Fowler fell asleep.

Bulkhead called to Miko, "Dino Lizard versus five headed ape. You're missing a smack down."

Miko exploded. She yelled at Bulkhead, "No! You're missing the smack down!"

Bulkhead asked, "Huh?" and gave Miko his full attention.

The girl shouted, "Which stinks, 'cause Breakdown is your arch enemy! Not Optimus's! And definitely not MECH's!"

The green lug sighed, and calmly defended himself, "Miko, you don't understand. Breakdown and me... We go way back. You have no idea the things he's done." Bulkhead turned from calm to angry. He defensively argued, "I am not rescuing him okay! Not now! Not ever!"

I offered, "Bulkhead, I could go and rescue him. You could provide backup, or simply tell Optimus that you couldn't stop me."

Miko nodded approving my idea. Then she rolled her eyes at Bulkhead, "You don't have to bromance him Bulk. You just have to beat him!"

Bulkhead questioned, "Uh, what?"

Miko clarified, "No rescue: No rematch!"

I suggested, "My offer still stands. Do you want to join me, or play dumb?"

Bulkhead opened a groundbridge.

He turned to me and demanded, "Let's go rescue us a Con!"

We transformed and drove through the portal. When we exited, Bulkhead transformed. He saw tire tracks and changed back into his car mode. We followed the tracks. Bulkhead transformed again, this time behind the cover of a building. A car accelerated behind the aforementioned Building. It did not see us.

Bulkhead said with disgust, "MECH."

The car drove into a tunnel. Bulkhead ran after it. I transformed and sprinted after him. Bulkhead stopped at the entrance of the tunnel and readied his blaster. I drew my swords and lowered my mask. We continued cautiously.

A ways up, a metal door blocked our path.

I gestured with my swords, "Should I?"

Bulkhead denied and responded in a badass tone and said, "Allow me."

He got out his wrecking balls and swung at the door. I prepared for battle. The door flew off its hinges. Humans fired at us.

Bulkhead yelled playfully, "Marco!"

Some humans ran away, whereas others fired back.

Bulkhead swung at the humans' feet and yelled, "You're supposed to say Polo!"

 _Human phrases. I should've taught that one to Ghost. That would've been fun._

We ran on ahead. We reached Breakdown. He was lying down, restrained. I sprinted up to my friend and began slashing at his restraints. Bulkhead walked up to Breakdown's face.

Bulkhead stated annoyed, "It must be your lucky day," as he broke off Breakdown's last restraint.

Breakdown asked concerned, "Wh-wh-what are you doing?"

Bulkhead offered his hand and stated, "Getting you out of here."

Breakdown had this really confused look plastered on his face.

Bulkhead agreed, "Yeah, I don't believe it either."

Breakdown took Bulkhead's hand and was helped up.

Bulkhead asked concerned, "Can you walk?"

Breakdown answered, "I- I think so."

Alarms went off in MECH's base.

Bulkhead asked scared, "Can you run?"

Breakdown pulled out his hammer and exclaimed, "Never run when you can fight!"

Bulkhead pushed away Breakdown's hammer with his servo. He said, "Just keep that thing pointed away from me, right?"

I walked in front of the talking mechs. I turned to them and I called, "Are we going or what?"

Breakdown was extremely surprised; he looked as if he was seeing a ghost. He questioned, "Shadow? How did—"

I interrupted him, "Escape and fight now, talk after and or never."

I ran in front. Bulkhead and Breakdown followed. Up ahead, a group of humans fired at us. I created a path with my swords and continued past them.

Bulkhead cried, "Creature Double Feature coming right at ya!" as he swung his wrecking balls. I had already created a path; he was just showing off. Mechs could have such egos.

We exited the tunnel and were immediately fired at by MECH agents in cars. The machine-gun fire stung, but it wasn't much more than a nuisance. I ran and sliced the cars into pieces. Breakdown fired his laser at a car while Bulkhead fired his at the helicopters.

Breakdown asked, "You have some sort of escape plan?"

Bulkhead confirmed, "Yep, but you're not gonna like it." Bulkhead put a finger up to his audio processor and created a COM link. He called, "Bulkhead to Optimus. Rendezvous to my coordinates. I'm in need of back up!"

 _Hey! He's actually calling for backup! I would of never of done that._

Breakdown grabbed a MECH car and hurdled it at a chopper. Bulkhead smashed two cars with his wrecking balls. I sliced a few more cars.

The helicopters increased their fire. One of the choppers charged an electrical beam and fired it at Breakdown. I threw my sword at the stream. The beam deflected off of it and hit a MECH car. I went to retrieve my sword. The helicopter charged and fired again. Breakdown pushed Bulkhead out of the way. My friend just saved an Autobot! I was so proud. The helicopters continued their fire. Breakdown and Bulkhead got back to back. They destroyed anything that got close. I was envious. They had silently devised a strategy while I ran around destroying cars.

The helicopters turned and fled. Similarly, the cars drove away. I walked up to the two Mechs.

Breakdown asked, "Your backup?"

Starscream and a team of four seekers flew in and transformed. I quickly hid behind Bulkhead.

Breakdown called out, "Commander Starscream!"

Starscream asked, "Consorting with the enemy Breakdown?"

Breakdown turned to Bulkhead and explained, "Bulkhead got me out of there."

Starscream insincerely jested, "Many spark felt thanks Autobot," The commander turned back to Breakdown and ordered, "Now destroy him."

Breakdown argued, "But he—"

"Do you plan on joining their ranks anytime soon!?" Starscream interrupted.

"No? Then be done with it already!"

I walked out from behind Bulkhead. I threatened, "harm Bulkhead, and I'll extinguish your spark, Screamy."

Starscream took a step back. He was a weird mixture of surprised, scared, and relieved.

Starscream exclaimed overjoyed, "Thank the All spark you're alive! Lord Megatron will be thrilled to hear of your recovery." Starscream looked to my symbol. He noticed that it was no longer a Decepticon symbol. He backed away terrified.

I began walking toward Starscream in a bitter rage, but Bulkhead put his arm out and stopped me.

Starscream asked with terror in his voice, "You aren't still angry are you?" He backed up some more and tried to reassure me, "I learnt my lesson. I promise. Lord Megatron punished me himself."

I looked at Bulkhead, he sighed and submitted, "Fine. Have your revenge, I can wait." Bulkhead removed his arm from my path.

Starscream commanded to his soldiers, "Destroy them!"

I ran at the commander. Breakdown tried to get in my way. I dodged him, leaving the Con wide open for Bulkhead's attack. I dodged vehicon fire. Bulkhead covered me by wiping them out with a large Breakdown projectile he threw. I got to Starscream and put my sword to his neck. I saw fear, regret, sorrow, and many other emotions I did not expect to see in Starscream's optics. I could not kill him, no matter how much I might have wanted to. But, I had to ask.

"Screamy, why did Megatron keep you alive?"

"He said that death would be mercy compared to his punishment."

 _And he doesn't do mercy._

"Was it really so bad that death seemed appealing?"

"You speak in the past. It still would be."

My spark stopped. I-I just couldn't. I had never gotten to that point. Here he was, fighting, telling me the pain was so bad, that he would rather be dead. My brain just couldn't process that.

The vehicons got up. Prime and his original team fired.

I pulled my sword away from the commander's neck.

Starscream ran and called, "Retreat!"

He and his vehicons flew away. Breakdown ran, transformed and fled as well.

Optimus walked up to Bulkhead and I. He lectured, "Engaging the enemy without backup was even more dangerous this time. To learn nothing from past mistakes will get you both killed in the future." Optimus turned to Bulkhead, "But I am honored that you saw fit to rescue your rival. You have truly risen above your self."

Bulkhead turned to me and asked, "Did you see? I beat Breakdown and bashed him all with his own hammer!" He exclaimed excitedly, "I won the rematch!"

Arcee confirmed, "I'm sure Miko would be proud."

Ratchet called for a ground bridge. Bulkhead smugly gloated. I stepped away from the group and looked to the sky.

Optimus walked up to me and asked, "Shadow are you alright?"

I shook my head and answered annoyed, "No! I had my blade against Starscream's neck, I could've easily gotten revenge!"

"But?" Optimus questioned.

"I couldn't do it," I muttered to myself. I said louder, "I looked at him and I just could not kill him. I'm weak."

Optimus placed his servo on my shoulder and proclaimed, "Mercy is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength." He looked over his shoulder at Bulkhead, then back at me. He said, "You had the opportunity to and decided against revenge. I am as proud of you as I am Bulkhead."

The groundbridge arrived and we walked through.

...

 **Ghost**

 _It's so dark here... I'm- I'm all alone._

...

 **Shadow**

Back at base Bulkhead continued to tell the tale of how he (along with my help) rescued his arch nemesis, and then went on to beat Breakdown with his own hammer.

A call came up on the monitor. I walked next to it, and hid in the camera's blind spot.

Optimus answered, Megatron came on screen. I shook of fear, and anxiety.

The Decepticons' leader proclaimed, "Well if it isn't Optimus Prime and his fellow Autobots. I'm calling to dismiss a certain rumor—"

From my position, I made a knife slicing motion on my neck, pointed to the monitor, then cupped my servo around my face- placing a wall between my words and Megatron- and mouthed the words "I'm not here."

Arcee asked Bulkhead, "What does that mean?"

 _Oh Primus, no._

Bulkhead said, "Miko taught me all about human signals. Shadow is saying, 'cut the signal, and don't let him know I'm here'." Bulkhead paused for a moment and realized, "Oh Scrap! I just did that!" Everyone looked at Bulkhead.

Megatron was silent.

I face palmed. Then as a force of habit I clenched my other servo into a fist and mouthed the words, "Bulkhead. I'm going to kill you."

Bulkhead could tell I wasn't serious. He exclaimed jokingly, "Shadow, threatening to kill me isn't very nice! Haven't you learned anything?"

I was so done with the Wrecker. I covered my face with both of my servos and sighed.

Megatron excitedly called out to me, "Shadow! That is you! You aren't dead!"

I stayed in the blind spot and shook my head. Optimus got the memo.

Prime told Megatron, "Shadow is predisposed at the moment. If she was your only purpose for this message, then goodbye." Optimus reached for the button to hang up.

Megatron sprung into action. He quickly grabbed Starscream and held his plasma blaster to the Seeker's head. Megatron exclaimed, "Shadow, come on screen or the Seeker dies."

I rushed out of my blind spot, into the middle of the Autobot group. Megatron was being serious.

 _Why did I just do that? He wants to die. Am I really that evil? I need to deflect._

I questioned Megatron's sanity, "Do you realize how flawed your logic is?" I made gestures to accompany my speech. I sighed, "Honestly, I hate that mech! Vector sigma! What exactly did you do in terms of reasoning? Seriously, Megatron! What if I didn't comply?"

Megatron dropped Starscream and cruelly answered, "Then I'd be down a commander," he paused. "But you're forgetting one key fact. I know you. I know you're weak when it comes to certain subjects. If anything, this little exercise proves just how much you should return to the Decepticons."

Bulkhead yelled, "You leave our swordsman alone! She's far stronger than any of your dimwitted subjects!"

Starscream was bent over from being dropped. He raised his claw on screen and said, "Not the case."

I ignored him.

Megatron glared at Bulkhead. I could tell he was about to explode, so I decided to end this.

I told the Lord, "Listen. You replaced and alienated me. To add on, your second in command left me for dead. I switched sides. I'm not returning." I pressed the button and hung up. I turned around and addressed the Autobots, "He won't call back. He's too prideful and stubborn. Aside from that, he has many political pressures that won't permit him. I'm sorry you guys had to deal with that. I'm going to power down and rest."

I walked straight to my room. It hurt to speak to him. Not the actual speaking part, but the telling him I betrayed him. I could almost feel his spark breaking. I went to my berth and powered down.

...

 **Matrix's POV**

"So... she's not dead?"

Megatron growled, "No Matrix! She's not. Now could you please let me be?"

"Fine. All I wanted was to—"

"What did you want? I don't care! Leave!" He roared.

I stumbled backward into a table. I caught myself, and then sprinted out of the command center as fast as my metal feet could carry me. I walked down the hallway towards Elf's domain: the doctor's office.

"I don't see why Bucket-head had to yell at me. Did I do anything wrong? No! How dare he! It was his fault after all! He has some nerve—" I walked through the doors into the medical place. Knockout was fixing up Breakdown. "— If he thinks that he can just go off and just—"

"Trix, just what are you going on about?"

"Bucket head has gone bat sh*t insane!"

"Hmmm? What did he do?"

"He yelled at me! Me, of all people!"

"Could you please keep it down?" Breakdown asked. "My head is still ringing from the humans' experiments."

"Quiet down? Quiet down! Yes, I'll quiet down. Quiet down as soon as our leader can get his head out of his *ss and apologize to me!"

Knockout chuckled to himself. "I'm sorry Breakdown, but you might just never get her to quiet down."

Breakdown got up from the medical berth, "If you won't be quiet then I'll leave."

Elf pushed his friend back down, "You're in no position to go anywhere."

"Then could I please just get quiet for five minutes? Five minutes!"

"Matrix, could you please tone down your incessant chatter? Yes? Thank you for your cooperation."

"Fine, but I'll still be angry about it."

Knockout moved his attention to Breakdown's torched optic.

"Now let's see..." Knockout moved to his tools and searched through them.

I moved closer to Breakdown, "Looks like that hurts."

"The pain is gone, but it did hurt at the time."

"No it didn't. Your pain receptors were turned off."

"Well, I never said what hurt!"

"You can't have your pride hurt, if you never had any in the first place."

"It wasn't my fault!"

"What exactly happened?" I asked.

"Humans happened."

"Well, that's descriptive."

"Eureka! I found it!"

"Ouch, could you please lower your voice Knockout?"

"Sorry Breakdown, I forgot."

I leaned in towards Elf, "So, what did you find?"

"This," he showed me some weird metal thing.

"So, what is that?"

"Watch and find out."

Elf put the device on Breakdown's eye and screwed in some bolts.

"Oh, so it's an eye patch. Ooh, like a pirate!"

"Like a what?"

"A pirate. You know, long beard, sharp hook hand, one eye covered? Usually has a pet parrot?"

"A pirate? No, Breakdown has a hammer, not a hook. Besides, Soundwave is no pet."

"Hah! Good one Elf!"

"Five minutes?" Breakdown asked, "Was that too much to ask?"

"You're fine for now old friend. You can go."

"You barely even looked me over. Are you sure I'm fine? Those humans," Breakdown shivered, "they were inside of me. I could feel them in my head. Is there really no damage?"

"Other than your eye? Hah!"

"Now now Trix, don't be rude. And to answer your question Breakdown, I did look you over, all of your damaged parts. If you really wanted, I could give you a full examination. But we both know how long and tedious those can be."

"You're right. Besides, what's the worst that they could have done? Yeah, it's best not to overestimate the meat bags. I'll just get out of your hands, you know, because there is no need for the umm—"

Breakdown was a few feet- large metal feet- from the door. The giant was shaking.

"Full body examination?" Knockout asked.

The door opened and Breakdown ran out down the hall.

"I think you scared him."

"Who, him? I don't know what it is that you could mean."

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot."

"Forgot what, my little racing star?"

"Forgot how pissed I am at Megatron."

"How about I take you down to earth. We can go blow off some steam on the open road."

"Can we bash some cars in?"

"You know we can."


	13. Crisscross

Crisscross

 **Ghost**

"Wake up," said a voice I did not know. "Wake up."

The metal below me was cold. Unrecognizable. A bright light pierced my closed eyes. I moved my arms to shield my face from the light.

"Wake up."

I did so not because I wanted to. I resisted completely. I did not want to obey my oppressor.

"Wake up!"

My optics online-d, and I could see the bright light, which reflected off my arms' armor. The color was dull. Dull. Faded. A silver white, which lay beneath black ghostly wisps that resembled the final smoke from a dead candle's flame.

"Wake up."

 _Why? Why should I?_

My arms slowly fell down to my sides and my eyes adjusted. I was lying on the floor behind bars. I was in one of the brig's cells. A vehicon was on the other side. He was standing. He was unarmed. He controlled a terminal: The terminal, which controlled the bright light. I backed up against the wall. My back to it, I sat.

"Up."

"I don't take orders from a vehicon."

"We don't have time for this."

I crossed my arms and glared at him. I was determined not to move.

"Up, now."

I stretched out one of my arms, expecting to threaten the lesser drone. I glared.

"I will not ask another time."

My weaponry was gone. No clawed extensions to activate. No blaster to utilize. Nothing. I placed my feet below me and pushed through the air. No weaponry anywhere. My body electrified. Nothing.

"Come."

I wanted to rip him apart. Rip everyone apart. My weaponry was gone. They stole it. They cut it from my very frame. About much I wasn't sentimental, but this? I would kill for this.

The cage door opened.

"We're late."

He grabbed my arm. I jerked it away.

"Fine. Follow me."

"Where?" I spat.

"Megatron has requested your presence."

 _I'm going to kill him._

The vehicon walked out of the brig's entrance and I followed. Guards were posted periodically at every other door: Every logical escape path. I kept my eyes to the ground at first. I avoided their glances. I ignored my own shame. But, it was illogical to waste an opportunity by glaring at the ground. I raised my sight, and I counted my opponents. The math just wouldn't add up. Not in my favor. Ability activated, I would run out of energy before I would be able to get anywhere. The vehicon stopped in front of a door.

"We're here."

It opened. He stepped to the side.

"Go in."

I didn't recognize the location. I wasn't used to walking to places from the brig. He waited a few moments. I walked through the doorway. The door slid shut behind me.

It was a large room: A dark room: Very spacious: Mostly vacant. All except for a battered con in the middle: Commander Starscream. A voice boomed from behind a one-way glass viewing room. It belonged to Megatron. I knew where I was.

"Consider this training."

He continued to speak. But I blocked him out. I did not want to hear his prattle. It was anger that deafened me. Resistance in full: Failure to rest. My father's conditioning paid through. His words invaded my thoughts.

"Experiment... Fighting without weaponry... Damage the commander without letting him die—" _work of the DJD_ "bringing him the most pain possible... and then you have my permission to finish him off..."

 _... And what if I refuse?_

Brain running on empty. Body running on fumes. What meant to be a mental insult. Dropped more shame than I ever felt was possible to lose. My father was his most devout follower, and I— the Con who just said that aloud.

"Ghost," Starscream called out to me in a kind and defeated tone, "It's okay if you kill me. I have already accepted my fate. Just fight. It'll save both of us the pain of any alternatives."

...

"I'm not going."

"It is time for your next scheduled lab appointment."

"I'm not taking orders from a drone."

"We will not be late again."

"What? Are you going to stop me from doing nothing?"

"I have permission to transport you—"

"Unconscious? I think you're supposed to buy me a drink first."

"You will eat after your appointment."

"But, I'm hungry now."

"Stop delaying."

"I am not moving from this spot."

...

"Move, now."

"I'm too tired."

"Now."

"I don't have the energy. I'm all worn out."

"You have to—"

"Go train? I know the schedule. I've been locked into it too long to forget it."

"Then, you know that you have never successfully disobeyed it."

"I don't feel like training."

"Importance does not lie upon feelings."

"What is that, a non-scripted answer? I think you damaged my audio receptors with that one."

...

"Wake up."

"I'm not asleep."

"I know."

 _The pain kept me up._

"Get awake. We move in 10."

...

"You're not moving?"

"No."

"Training requires your participation."

 _Meaning awake._

"The ten is up, we move."

...

"Now."

...

"You must eat to regain energy."

 _Pain._

"Move your mouth, and eat."

...

"Consuming energon is in your best interest. For once, stop resisting and do as you are told."

...

I was silent for a long while. My body was too taxed to move, too tired to speak. My processor was still recovering. I didn't think unless I needed to.

...

"What harm comes from following orders?" He asked me.

 _Orders aren't just. I don't want to. Starscream was the only one I could relate to. Orders were the opposite. I didn't want to lose the last link I had to living._

"Can I take your silence as compliance?"

"I'm not doing it."

"If you do not comply, I have orders to—"

"I don't have the energy."

 _Not anymore._

...

 **Matrix**

"Hey, where's that special help? Snowstorm? You there?"

"Sorry Matrix," The master strategist said, 'It looks like I'm no help to you'.

"Well f*ck."

"What's the situation?"

"Striker and Bee-bot have us pinned down, d*mn, with almost to no cover, and I think Arcee is going in for the kill."

"Shadow is not among them?"

"A vehicon troop went after her in the lower caverns but hell if I know what the f*ck is going on."

The signal failed.

 _Great. Just f*cking perfect._

I sat my back against the large rock, the only thing separating me from the enemy. I peered out from behind it. A laser whizzed past where my ear would have been. I ducked back.

 _F*ck._

Another energon mine lost. And this one was not my fault. If Heels even tried pining it on me this time, oh, I would make our base a living hell for him. That would be if Bucket-head believed him this time. Once I got back to base I reconvened with Hammer-time and Elf. We would not go down without a fight. Not while we could let someone else take the blame.

 **...**

 **Shadow's POV**

Jack rode Arcee into the hanger. Everyone had greeted them. More so excited today than usual. I walked over to the group. I noticed that another human was with him. Jack referred to this individual as his mother. I had seen the mother-son relationship many times in movies and TV. Jack had introduced her to everyone already. I did not want to interfere. I was nervous around new people.

Ms. Darby admitted, "I don't know about all of this." She turned to Jack and told him, "I don't know if I want you here, riding such a dangerous bike."

Tension was high. Most understood the insult. Some glared. Some ignored the statement. Some laughed. Correction. One laughed. Striker. It seemed to make the Jack-human tense up, and his guardian snarl. No one was happy. This was certain. If these were cons, the statement would have been a compliment, but the opposite version as an insult would've left someone very hurt. Agonizingly hurt. Having to go see the doctor hurt. The tension grew with silence. Anger replaced the air. All was jittering in anticipation to explode.

That's why I felt like I had to intervene. It's hard to explain, but I felt that Arcee would have objected harshly to that insult if she could. But, ruining her relationship with Jack's Mom would be bad long term, and ostracizing the human for an insult wasn't something I felt the team would like sitting on their consciences. So, I decided to earn some brownie points with Arcee and diffuse the situation simultaneously. I walked up and placed a servo on Arcee's shoulder.

I questioned, "Dangerous? She thinks this ten speed is dangerous?" I turned to the mother and said, "Trust me, Arcee is far too protective to be dangerous."

The mother asked me, "What do you know about danger? I work in a hospital, where people go when they are hurt, I don't want to see Jack end up there."

I could tell this mother cared deeply for Jack. I decided not to tell her about all the danger that I've seen. It did not help that Jack was gesturing for me to inform her of what I decided not to. Some part of me didn't want to absolve Arcee of being dangerous by stating myself as an extreme danger in comparison. Knowing my luck, the comparison would've horribly backfired, and the mom would remind herself of the danger I faced whenever she found out that her son went into the field. _Miko runs out there a lot, and he follows her, and she likes to brag..._ Instead of getting more involved, I simply walked away.

Bulkhead turned to me and asked, "What? Can't handle an adult human female?"

I turned to him and responded, "I could if I wanted. But, she reminds me of a Predacon guarding Shockwave. I do not wish to get on her supposed bad-side."

I walked up to Ratchet's monitor. The other Autobot's continued socializing with Jack's mother. I continued inputting the codes for the Decepticon tracking beacons I knew. I was just about done; there were just a few more things I had to do before the system would be completed. Jack walked closer to me with his mother.

He caught my attention, "Shadow, you're too antisocial. You're going to miss what happened at my run in with MECH."

I turned around and faced the pair. I asked intrigued, "MECH? You mean the MECH that torched Breakdown's eye?"

Arcee confirmed, "The very same."

"Oh slag," Striker exclaimed, "You planning revenge, or what?"

Bumblebee nudged her on the shoulder.

"Hey, she's not a Con anymore," He beeped, "Remember what Optimus said?"

"All I'm sayin' is, teammates prep for revenge runs with other teammates. And what's better prep than gaining intel from a story?"

I joined the group. We were more or less huddled around Jack and his mom. Miko sat on Bulkhead's shoulder, and Raf stood next to Bee.

Jack started, "So, Mech had these electrical pulse beams that take out bots. They were also working with Airachnid. Anyway..." Jack went on and told his tale.

Personally, I would have given his story a 4/10. As soon as he told the part about calling agent Fowler for backup, I knew he was safe. Calling for backup is considered cheating in most rounds of a fight.

Alarms went off throughout the base. We walked over to the monitor. Ratchet pulled up the world map.

June asked, "What's going on?"

Arcee told her, "We picked up some Decepticon activity."

June was more confused than before. She continued to question Jack.

Ratchet exclaimed, "Wow. Four different Decepticon activity sites." He turned to me and complimented, "Your upgrade on the Con signal receptor may have worked too well."

Optimus asked, "Shadow, do these locations mean anything to you?"

I pointed to each location as I mentioned it, ordering each place by the amount of activity, "Energon mine, abandoned lab, abandoned energon mine, and explored crash site."

Optimus nodded. He assigned everyone a site, "Arcee, accompany Ratchet at the abandoned lab, Bulkhead and Striker you both should join me at the energon mine, Bumblebee you scout for energon at the abandoned mine, and Shadow, you go to the crash site."

Miko yelled, "Since Shadow's going to the least dangerous one, can I go too?"

"Least dangerous?" June questioned, "There is still danger involved? Why would you let any kid go into danger?"

Optimus explained, "There is danger in everything June Darby. For example: Any of us could simply trip and injure ourselves or the humans right here."

Jack added on, "Besides, Miko would try to sneak out on a mission anyway. It's best to have her go on the safest one."

June was unsure. She nagged, "I still don't think it's responsible. Who knows what could go wrong, or of the dangers involved?"

Annoyed, I said, "Ms. Darby, any human is extremely safe with me. I served as an elite member on a task force that dealt with some of the most intense, covert operations in the entire—"

"Hold on Shadow," Jack stopped me, "that's just about all the information my Mom can handle in a day."

Raf asked, "If Miko's going, can I go too? I love space related things."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," the doctor said. Ratchet reminded us, "We still need someone to stay here and coordinate."

Jack offered, "I can stay here with my mom. I know the systems more or less. I also think my mom would feel more safe if she saw how things were done around here."

Optimus complied, "That plan seems acceptable." He faced all of us and ordered, "This is primarily a scouting mission. If you meet resistance, gauge the risk, and then contact Jack. You may only engage without contacting Jack, if there is no question of possible risk or injury. Do you all understand?"

Everyone nodded. Jack started using the ground bridge to send bots to our locations. I was last. When it was my turn, Jack called to Miko and Raf.

Jack quietly asked them, "Miko, could you take some pictures to prove how safe a scouting mission is? Raf, make sure Miko doesn't do anything reckless. Call in if anything happens. Remember: if my mom thinks this place is dangerous, I might never be able to come back."

Both Raf and Miko complied. They nodded and ran back over to me. I transformed into my vehicle form and opened my awesome Lamborghini doors.

Miko yelled, "Shotgun!" and slid into the passenger seat. Raf looked at Miko like she was an idiot. He walked around to the other side and got into the driver seat. I revved my engines. I was completely convinced that this vehicle form was the coolest.

Jack activated our portal. I accelerated and raced through.

When we exited the ground bridge, the humans got out and I transformed. We were hidden behind the site by a mound of dirt. I walked to the edge of our cover and stealthily looked out at the area surrounding the crashed ship. It was occupied by Cons.

I shook my head and turned back to Raf and Miko. I whispered, "Not good guys. This is not good."

Raf asked, "What's wrong Shadow?"

I answered, "The system wasn't exactly accurate. I think the Cons were redirecting some signals to displace activity."

Miko questioned, "So, how was the machine thingy wrong?"

I informed them, "The scanner said this site would be empty. In reality, it has three vehicons, Knockout and Breakdown."

"How exactly could the Decepticons' fool the scanner?" asked Raf.

I explained, "There are tracking signals and signal beacons. Signal beacons are difficult to pick up. That's what the old system was based off of. I upgraded it to find the tracking signals. But, tracking signals can go two ways. You can turn off your end that's sending the signal, or the other end that tracks the signal. If I had finished, we wouldn't be tricked like this."

Raf understood the concept and nodded. Miko understood that I'd be fighting Cons and excitedly nodded.

Miko exclaimed, "So you're going to be fighting some Cons then!"

Raf asked, "Wait Shadow... If you could upgrade the scanner to track Cons, would MECH be able to do the same with Arcee... or Breakdown?"

"It's two ways," I said, "so only if he did not disable it." I face palmed. That idiot was as bright as Bulkhead. There was no way he turned off his tracking beacon.

Miko said, "So he didn't do it."

"It's very unlikely."

Everything was silence. I tried to think.

Raf said, "Jack doesn't want his mom to know of possible dangers. Should we call it in?"

Miko cried, "No! Optimus said that we should gauge the risk. Shadow can totally take those guys! There is no way we're going to get hurt with Shadow protecting us."

I sighed, "Fine. But, if something goes wrong, you contact Jack and ask for a groundbridge."

Miko saluted, "You got it Shadow!"

"Optimus said we could only engage without contacting Jack if you were completely sure," Raf said. "Do you even have a plan?"

I submitted, "I'll contact base." I put a finger next to my audio processor and tried to create a link. It wouldn't work. I told the kids, "I can't contact base: some signal is messing with my system. Miko, could you text jack to see if that works?"

Miko got out her phone. She read as she typed, "This is a test. Everything is fine."

Raf reminded her, "Miko, you forgot to tell him about the Decepticons."

Miko ignored Raf, she exclaimed, "Doesn't matter." She looked up to me and asked, "Shadow, what's this plan of yours?"

I replied, "First, I'll sneak to the site. Next, I'll take out the vehicons. Then I'll drop Breakdown. Finally I will knock out Knockout."

Miko was excited. She screamed, "Yeah! That will be so cool!"

I could tell Raf was fine with it. He was on the same wavelength as Miko.

I moved to the tree line. While the cover of trees protected me, I crept around the site. I was almost upon the enemy. They had not seen me yet. It seemed like they were looking for something. I activated my mask and drew my swords. I wanted to knock these guys out, not end them.

I ran up to the closest vehicon, I hit his pressure points and slashed him. The first vehicon fell unconscious. I sprinted to the next one. The enemy had seen me coming and had begun firing. I dodged his lasers and lunged at the Con. I slashed at his side, and then his head. The vehicon fell. Breakdown rushed at me. He forced me towards Knockout. I dodged Breakdown's swing by back flipping near Knockout. The Doctor tried to strike me with his energon prod, but I dodged. I was blocked between Breakdown's hammer and Knockout's prod. I allowed both Cons to draw in closer. Breakdown ran at me. I rolled out of the way. Breakdown ran into Knockout's prod. Breakdown fell. The last vehicon continued to shoot at me. I ran to him and cut his blaster in two. Then, I slashed at the vehicon's side. He flew into Knockout, and was down. Knockout had dropped his prod. I rushed the doctor. I swiftly slashed at his legs. He fell. Using the butt of my swords, I struck Knockout's head. The doctor was taken care of. I sheathed my swords and raised my mask. I saw Miko and Raf cheering in the distance. I started to walk towards them. As I got closer, I heard a whizzing noise. I turned my head, but it was too late. A hockey puck sized object struck my arm. I felt excruciating pain as I was engulfed in a field of electricity. Everything went dark.

...

I heard Breakdown yell, "Wake up!"

I opened my optics. A drill was aimed for one of them. I quickly activated my mask. The drill hit my mask's protective lens. Shockwave personally made me this along with my heavy armor. I knew it could withstand blades and lasers. I swiveled my head and observed my surroundings. Breakdown and I were lying down next to each other. They had already started to cut into Breakdown's armor. We were both restrained. In front of us, Silas stood on a raised platform.

Silas called, "Female, you are awake."

I turned my head towards Breakdown and addressed my friend, "Thanks Breakdown." I ignored the human and asked, "Did you know Airachnid turned down the opportunity to kill this guy, for information?"

Breakdown replied, "She must have had a good reason."

Silas interrupted us, "Ahem. You must be wondering why you are both here."

Breakdown yelled, "How sweet! You wanted a rematch!"

A MECH soldier responded, "You won't feel so high and mighty when—"

Silas stopped him. He stated coldly, "Breakdown, our last session was cut short by an unfortunate circumstance. You are here so that we may collect any final pieces of data and finish the job."

Breakdown gulped. He struggled to break free from his restraints. His thrashing did nothing but expend energy and create noise. I decided to save my strength and think of a way out of this. The MECH surgeons started trying to cut into my armor.

Silas asked me, "You there, do you have a name?"

I did not answer. I calmed myself and searched the room for something- something to help me escape- my sight stopped on a pair of insects. They darted around the room very quickly.

Breakdown answered, "My friend here, she's the Shadow of Death! She will kill you, your goons and destroy this place!"

I noticed that the larger of the two insects was faster. That didn't make much sense to me. The lighter one should have won. The insects reminded me of Arcee and I. I was faster, yet larger. I remembered that Shockwave had installed boosters near my feet for added propulsion. These allowed me to be faster than Arcee.

Silas spoke, "Well, Shadow of Death. You are here because you are an enigma. We have collected that your species can transform into a vehicle that either drives or flies. You; however, can transform into two vehicles, a jet and a car. On top of this, you are one of the few females of your kind that we've seen. In dissecting you both, we hope to unlock the secrets of your species."

My pride in human vocabulary overcame me. I corrected, "You mean vivisect."

Silas questioned, "What?"

I answered, "Dissecting involves cutting apart a dead thing. We are living. Cutting apart a living thing is known as vivisection."

Breakdown asked, "What difference does it make whether the thing is dead or alive? We are getting cut into either way."

I warmed my boosters. I calculated the power I would need to escape my restraints.

I informed Breakdown, "Alive things can fight back."

I transferred 97% of my energy into my boosters and flew backwards, ripping my restraints out of the ground. I stood and drew my swords. In the amount of time it took for me to slash Breakdown's restraints. Silas had gotten away. I transformed into my car mode. I fully intended to flee.

I smugly asked Breakdown, "Are you coming?"

Breakdown transformed into his jeep mode. We drove towards the exit.

Breakdown wondered, "You could have killed Silas. Why did you free me instead?"

I responded jokingly, "I am almost hurt you had to ask that. You have fought alongside me for how many centuries? Don't you know me at all?"

Breakdown countered, "I know that your first priority was usually the safety of your teammates. But, we're not exactly teammates. We're on rival teams."

We were almost to the exit. I could see the light from outside. I stopped, transformed, and backed against the wall. Breakdown transformed as well.

Breakdown said, "Shadow, the exit is right over there! Why are you stopping?"

I reminded him, "Remember before? There is probably an army of MECH cars, helicopters, and other weaponry out there."

Breakdown nodded, "What now?"

 _Okay, good question... What should I do? I don't know, I ussualy just bust into places swords slashing. But, for some reason, I don't think that's a good idea this time. It didn't work last time. What didn't I do last time? What saved us last time? Backup. Fragging backup._

I answered, "We both call our teams. Which ever team arrives first—"

"Wins a cup of energon and the title of 'best save', " he jested. Breakdown always knew how to diffuse the severity of a situation.

Breakdown called Knockout: I called the base.

Jack picked up. He asked, "Shadow, what happened?"

I replied, "To sum it up: MECH happened. Can you send a team to my coordinates?"

Jack answered, "Immediately. Arcee and Ratchet went to help Optimus, Bulkhead, and Striker. Is Bumblebee enough?"

I replied satisfied, "Yes, as long as you keep a ground bridge open for transport."

Breakdown looked disappointed. I guessed his help wasn't going to arrive first.

Jack said, "Shadow, there's a problem. I can't place a ground bridge exactly at your coordinates; however, I can put it as close as a mile away from where you are now."

"Thanks Jack," I ended the call.

Breakdown said, "My teammates are either in the Med Bay, or in battle at an energon mine."

"Breakdown, Bumblebee's almost here. All we have to do is avoid any beams or disks."

Breakdown pounded his fists together. He playfully teased, "Betcha I can take down more of MECH than you."

I started to walk towards the exit, swords in hand. Breakdown followed me.

I looked at my friend. I requested, "How about you go ahead and use your laser? I want to make a grand entrance."

Breakdown caught my intent. He turned around, aimed at a power source we had passed and fired. We ran out into battle, explosion trailing behind us. While MECH focused machine gun fire on the both of us, they fired the electrical beams at me. It was a muddle of dodging, deflecting and redirecting force at their troops. Minutes later Bee drove into sight and fired at MECH. I transformed into my car form and sped to his position. Breakdown and MECH followed. The three of us drove to the groundbridge. Breakdown transformed back into his robot-humanoid form. I stopped. MECH was hot on our tail.

"Breakdown!" I yelled, "What are you doing? MECH's right there!"

Breakdown turned to me and said, "I can't join you. I hope you're happy with the Autobots, but that's just not me."

 _Agh!_

I looked back at Bumblebee. He was hastily waiting next to the portal. I called to him, "This will only take a moment."

I opened a personal COM link to Megatron. This of course, would only work if he were not on the Nemesis. Lucky for me, he was not. I said, "Megatron. I will be at this location for the next minute and 30 seconds. Breakdown needs help. We are being pursued by MECH. I am not well equipped to fight this battle. I will leave in 1:05."

I ordered Bee, "If anything happens, get me through that portal."

MECH was extremely close.

I turned back to Breakdown and informed him, "MECH's tracking your signal. You should turn it off."

MECH had caught up. 50 seconds left. They fired upon us. Bumblebee and Breakdown fired back. I could do nothing but deflect fire with my swords and hope that I hadn't been deceiving myself about the Lord of the Decepticons for the last half of my life.

A groundbridge opened in the sky. Megatron flew out in his cybertronian jet form. He fired at MECH and took out some of their forces. Megatron landed next to me.

My former Lord asked, "If I defeat their forces within the time limit. Can we talk?"

I nodded and responded, "All of them, then we'll talk."

Megatron took off in a rage. Everywhere MECH fell. But as I had calculated, there were too many forces for him to defeat. Megatron was so focused on defeating the troops that he had ignored the helicopters. I noticed Silas's chopper was charging its beam cannon. The weapon was pointed at the unsuspecting leader of the Decepticons. 15 seconds left.

I ran and transformed into my jet form. I flew towards the airspace surrounding Megatron. In its last moment of charging: midair, I transformed and pointed my swords towards the two helicopters surrounding Silas's. The weapon fired, but missed its intended target. The beam struck my metal; some was redirected, causing the two helicopters to disable. I was losing consciousness quickly. 10 seconds left. The last thing I remember was falling.

...

 **Megatron's POV**

Shadow had protected me from certain doom. She crashed against the ground near me. She did not move, neither did the humans' flying vehicles that had been stricken by the beam. How dare they! If they had caused her a single injury, I would end all of them! I fired my plasma cannon at all of the MECH automobiles. My energy was depleting rapidly. I drew my sword and decimated anything I could get close to. 2 seconds left. I looked back at my beloved Shadow. The Autobot scout was dragging her back to their ground bridge. I had almost completed our agreement: but it was impossible. The flying unit that had fired upon my sparkmate had fled.

...

 **Shadow's POV**

I opened my optics. I was back on Ratchet's medical berth. I got up slowly. The other Autobots and humans were standing around the main area.

Ratchet yelled, "What were you thinking?!"

I calmly answered, "I don't know what you mean. Nothing happened to Bumblebee, Miko, or Raf. All of my actions were within protocol. I did nothing wrong."

 _Besides, I saved Breakdown... Again. Ha!_

Ratchet yelled, "You were in critical condition! You were powered down for three days!"

Optimus lectured, "This is why we call for backup. Fighting enemies alone can lead to serious injuries."

I tried to calm the tension. I explained, "I didn't gain any damage from battle. My critical condition was caused by a massive energy loss. It was necessary to secure my and Breakdown's safety."

Optimus sighed. He expounded, "Shadow, you are a part of this team now. You are just as important as any other member. You have to avoid injury in the future."

"Especially injury caused by stupidity," Striker muttered, "You're an Autobot now, stop saving the Cons, kay? No more old routine."

Ratchet said, "You have to take into account the difference in equipment between us and the Decepticons. If it weren't for the energon we recently acquired, you might not be awake right now."

Ratchet was right. I didn't fully understand my situation. As an Autobot, I couldn't be as reckless. We had much less energon, limited supplies, and other differences, none of which were in our favor.

I walked towards my room. I did not respond to anyone. I could tell Optimus was concerned. I did not pay it any mind. I couldn't get something out of my head. Breakdown and I were on rival teams. I helped him without hesitation. The most I could do to a Con was knock him out. I'm an Autobot now, but wasn't acting like it. _What's wrong with me?_

"Shadow?" Optimus called out from behind me.

"Yes?" I stopped. I turned around to face him.

"Where are you going?"

"My room."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I guess it's just habit."

"Habit for you to go to your room?"

"Habit for me to distance my self from those around me."

"Why would you do that?"

"I don't know."

Optimus walked up to me.

"Shadow, you don't have to create distance."

"Sorry Optimus, but I feel as if it's necessary."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I guess that I just feel like a disappointment. I try to do something but..."

"You don't think it's good enough."

"Like I'm trying to live up to an unrealistic goal. I try and try, but I can never be good enough."

"But, why create distance?"

"Every self failure I view, the gap between my self image and the unreachable goal increases. This makes me view my self as lower. After a failure, my image is so low, that I view it as pulling down those around me. So, I isolate my self as to not place a burden upon others."

 _Megatron was fine with that. Decepticons live very solitary lives. Except for the teams. They were different._

Optimus was silent. I became silent. I felt bare in front of him: completely exposed. But, I knew Orion, if it weren't for him, I would be in my room right now.

"I'm sorry for unloading all of this information on you. I just felt comfortable to do so, and so I did."

"You do not have to apologize Shadow. It is an honor to be a haven of comfort for a friend."

 _Teammate._

I didn't like it that he called me a friend. I felt like I didn't deserve it. Like I had to live up to the title somehow, and I was already failing.

More silence. I nodded and turned to exit. I travelled a few paces closer to solitude before I felt a servo on my shoulder. Optimus turned me to face him.

"You don't have to be alone."

"I don't deserve company."

"Why not?"

"I have done far too many things -unredeemable things- to deserve company."

"I'm here to listen."

"Why?"

"You remind me much of many others."

"Why? Who were they? What happened to them?"

 _Scrap it! Just stop. Stop it me!_ _Let it go! Just, let it go._

"Many died, one leads the Decepticons, and one stands here before you."

"I don't know how to respond to that."

"Tell me what ails you, and I will try to help."

"Are you sure you want to help me?"

"I will try my best to help any friend."

"Well, the irredeemable begins with... are you really sure you want to listen?"

"I am certain."

"Okay then. It all started a long time ago: before the war long time ago. My family wanted one thing, to stay out of the war, and I didn't want that. I had to be stubborn and thick headed. I wanted to fight for what I believed to be right. So, I faked my death and joined the Autobot ranks. I joined the war because I didn't want others to fight a battle for me."

"For you?"

 _He really doesn't recognize me._

"I was an activist before the war. It's complicated, but I was one of the creator's of the Autobot party. An idealistic creator, I wrote certain things, and inspired others to take certain actions."

 _Decepticons created, then the Autobots were created to oppose the force._

"So then, you must have known the high council. The original Autobots were recruited by the council to form an army in order to combat the Decepticon cause."

"Yes, you could say I knew them... Anyway, I caused great pain to my family. They died trying to stay out of the war, I 'died' in order to get into it."

"I'm sorry for your loss. I have had many of my friends die because of the war. No offense to you, but I do not see how your actions are irredeemable. I want to listen to the rest of your list, no matter how long, and explain to you how you are redeemable afterwards."

"Why would you do such a thing?"

"Many of my friends have had awful fates thrust upon them because they had no one to listen to their ailments and help them through difficult mental crutches. I believe that I can save you from a similar fate. As a Prime, I have to try my best to save everyone."

"Striker calls you a martyr."

"If I had simply listened before to some of my friends, they would be here with me now. I believe that by helping you, I will be able to help myself."

"Well Optimus, if you ever want someone to listen, I'm here for you."

"Thank you Shadow. I appreciate your words. You can continue if you want."

"Yes, let's see... I joined the war because of idealistic reasons. I wanted to fight for what I thought was right, just, morally sound, etc. I nearly died on the battlefield. I should have died on the battlefield, but that was when Megatron saved my life. My second irredeemable action is when I betrayed my ideals and switched sides. Every action past that point benefitted the side I had sworn to defeat. The side that had murdered my family."

"Why did you stay with the Decepticons?"

"At first, I had given up on the Autobots. They had left me for dead, and I was grateful that Megatron had saved me. Holding a grudge, and feeling guilt, my loyalties shifted. The Decepticons took me in, treated me well, far better than I had ever been before. How could I betray them?"

"You're an Autobot now. Do we not treat you better?"

"Better back then was all in the sense of importance. To my family: I was nothing more than a backup, an embarrassment when compared to my siblings. To the Autobots: I was nothing more than a sacrificial pawn. But to the Decepticons: I mattered, I was special, and I had a place to call home. I stayed at first, because I traded in my ideals for a sense of belonging. I stayed past that because I had grown accustomed to my comrades and did not wish to disappoint or betray them. My guilt of course did grow to a point where I could no longer completely betray my ideals. So, I talked to Megatron."

"You spoke to Megatron about idealistic differences? What did you say?"

"I told him that before the war I was an activist against the governmental structure, for the rights and freedoms of all. I said that I joined the Autobots because I preferred a peaceful means to realizing my hopes instead of war. That's what caused me to join the Autobots instead of the Decepticons. I told him that I was feeling guilty that I had betrayed my moral conscience in the struggle to realize my goal."

"How did he respond?"

"He explained to me that I was valuable to his team and that he didn't want to see me go. Then, he reemphasized the life debt I owed him as a means to force me to stay. Next, he explained to me his reasoning for taking violence as opposed to peace. He admitted that he wasn't entirely sure what to do in the sense of creating a new societal structure, after he overthrew the old governmental system. I threw him some of my ideas that had I previously advocated for. He said that my ideas had something to them. He promised me that if I gave him my word that I would full-heartedly fight for him -despite any guilt I might have for doing so- He'd listen to any moral judgment calls I wanted to make regarding peace, especially once the war was won."

"And you believed him?"

"Irredeemable actions. I fought for the Decepticons Optimus. I fought for the side that destroyed our home planet and threatens this one."

Silence.

"I don't think they're irredeemable," Optimus said. "If that was true, you would have stopped searching for a means of redemption a long time ago."

"Thank you Optimus. But to me, nothing's that clear. I feel kind of bad for having just thrust some of my mental struggles upon you. I'm here if you want to say anything back to me."

"Yes, that. If that is what you wish."

"I only mean to help. If you don't feel comfortable, you don't have to."

"I do feel comfortable. I will start from the beginning."

"I'll listen to every word and promise not to judge."

"Thank you..." he looked into my eyes, almost as to make sure he could trust me. He looked away, and then back again, "I was not always a Prime," he said. "Most of my problems stem from there. When I became one, certain memories became harder to access and others faded altogether. Those I do remember are both difficult for me to recount, and cause me some grief. As I have said before, I was not always a Prime. I used to be an archivist whom mentored under Alpha Trion at the Iacon Historical Archives. I was isolated and did not have many friends. Those I did have, I latched onto and took for granted. The three friends I spent my time with were also the three friends I let down. Megatron was one of them. He was also like a mentor to me: Like a brother. He was a political activist and gladiator at the time. I learned much for him, but he was plagued by much deeper problems of which can I still only guess."

"He felt weak because of his lower class position. He craved both power and respect because of certain events in his tough upbringing and difficult job."

"Yes, those. How did you know that?"

"Megatron and I spent a lot of time together and got to know each other very intimately. We exchanged incredible amounts of information with each other. What I just told you, minus the 'what I told him' part, I never told Megatron. Just for clarification."

"Thank you Shadow. If you were only I, it is possible this war would have never happened. Those problems that plagued Megatron, I remembered sensing that something was wrong, but I never asked. I never offered an audio processor to him. If I had known his deep desire for power and respect was routed in an underlying feeling of weakness -something I had guessed but was never certain of- I could have made a difference. I could have helped him rather than letting him slip away and let those desires grow stronger. If I had just been there for him, if I had just asked, all of this, all these deaths, everything related to this war could have been avoided."

"It wasn't your fault," I said. "The war wasn't your fault. The Decepticon party, originally, had more leaders than just Megatron. Remember the Fallen? He used to lead the party before Megatron took complete control."

"Thank you Shadow, but I still let him down. The worst part was that he was not the only one whom I failed. I also failed Alpha Trion, my other mentor. Alpha Trion led the Autobots before I became a Prime, during the early days of the war. It wasn't until much later that I would become a Prime and lead the Autobots. Alpha Trion was a great leader: Greater than I could ever hope to achieve. While I was off leading, I left his facility open to an attack. I failed him. He died alongside his men, and it was entirely my fault. I didn't help him. If I had simply put more troops or spent more of my energy listening to his advice, he wouldn't have perished."

"I am sorry for your loss. Alpha Trion was a great cybertronian. No matter what outcome, I think he would have be proud to see you as you are now."

"Thank you Shadow... My third friend shared a similar fate to Alpha Trion. I was not there for her, not when she needed me to be. Talking to you, I realize that now. She never burdened others. She was always morally upright and much like you; she never showed any indication of trouble. She was an excellent femme whom I looked up to. All of my short comings, I could see her pushing through. She had many traits, which at the time I lacked, and I truly believe that she should have become a Prime instead of me. She never wanted the position; she denied any and all opportunities to obtain power. Instead, she advocated that I become Prime. Her father was in the high council, so she was the one who made it possible for Megatron and I to meet with the council. Of course, it was there that the council decided that I should become a Prime, so I owe that to her. Although her father was on the council, she would never be able to ascend to that position. This was because she was not born first. She was taught to shy away from power, as to ensure that she would not try to usurp her brother. I never caught this. I never asked. She died between me being selected as the next Prime and me actually becoming a Prime. She died alone, in the royal palace. At the time I was with Alpha Trion, he was teaching me different lessons before I went through the ceremony of becoming a Prime. She kept on contacting me, requesting that I visit her. She really wanted to relay certain pieces of information to me. I was busy with my mentor. I had failed Megatron and was determined to do everything in my power to fix my past mistake. So, I ignored her. She was killed in an early Decepticon attack. She was trying to protect the others at the time, because she valued their lives over her own. If I had been there, I could have saved her."

"I am sorry for your loss Optimus. You talked a lot about the femme."

"She was my dearest friend."

"I wish I could have met her. She sounds valiant."

"Yes. You two would have gotten along well."

 _Is your memory really worse than mine? Vector sigma. The same result._

"What is past is past. I am here for you Optimus. I am truly sorry for your losses. But, I think the best way to honor those who rest with the Allspark, is to move on to create a better future."

"Yes. I completely agree."

Silence.

"Thank you. I have had that in me for a while. It is nice to be able to as the humans say 'get it off of my mind'."

"Chest. Get it off your chest. That's the expression... and, me too."


	14. Metal Attraction

Metal Attraction

 **Ghost**

"No."

"Get up, now!"

"No!"

"If you don't, so help me, I will—"

"You'll what?"

"I'll—"

"Knock me out, take me there yourself? Where I'll be subject to Primus knows what? Experimentation, torture, suffering, anything that gets results, am I right? Or, no, maybe I'll participate in a battle. I'll expend the last of my energy doing something I don't want to do –no, not that- something that 'literally' causes me pain to do, you know that right? You realize that? I am in pain! I am exhausted. I cannot work. I cannot go. I do not want to. You continue this and I'll resist. I won't fragging give up. I will fight you every step of the way. So, you do what you do. Or, you could make yourself useful for once in your fragging life, and you go and tell them, I'm not complying, I'm not playing by their fragging rules, I'm done!"

"You're done?"

"Yes, scrap-face, I'm done. What? Too dumb for my words to get through that scrap filled 'skull' of yours?"

"You done?"

"I'm done."

"Good, because I am done dealing with your slag. You hear me, I am done!"

I rolled my optics at him.

"What? You think this is a game?"

"What? You think this is a competition? 'Cause I can yell pretty fragging loud."

"A game? You speak of being useful, what use are you? You're a fracking defective Con who tried to snuff her own spark 'cause she got _lonely_. You can't be left the frack alone. I have to put up with your slag every fragging day; I have to do it! Do you know why?"

"You're a mindless drone?"

"It's my job! It's my duty! But you, you have no sense of the word! What kind of Decepticon are you?"

"A defective one according to you. Fragging tired by my accounts. Tired of all this slag."

"You're tired of it? Tired of what? Of others taking care of you? Giving you opportunities to fight? Realizing your potential? You're a fracking One-Percenter! You're an outlier! You waste more talent than anyone else I know. You had everything. Everything! And you wasted it. You tried to take your own life. Want to know proof you're defective? You failed. Ha! You failed. Any decent Con would've succeeded, but you? You're a failure, always have been, always will be. 'Uh, I can't get up. I'm tired. I'm in pain.' I'm done with all your complaining. Shut up or put up. Do you know how many vehicons die a day? How many, long, slow, agonizing deaths we deal with? Decapitation, spark chambers ripped out from our chests, bleeding out, ripped apart by canon fire, shot-shocked dead by blasters, shredded by swords, having our limbs torn out and being beat by them. But you, you can't even stand a little fragging pain? You're a sparkling who can't even try to act mature. _Lonely_? Miss your creator? Yeah, suicide is the obvious answer! You're pathetic. I hope you know that."

"Me, pathetic? Go frag yourself! You're a fragging vehicon! You're worthless. Do you know why you all are called drones, why you all die so often? It's because you all 'suck'. You're horrible in battle! The Autobots aren't ruthless, the Decepticons are! They create a large weak force, and inspire them to volunteer for suicide missions daily by telling them that they are worth more than the scrap they're built from."

"You know what? I'm done with you. Go join the Allspark for all I care. You aren't worth my 'worthless' time." He left his station and walked toward the door.

"You can't just leave after lecturing me about duty! Someone's supposed to watch me." I said sarcastically, "What if I get _lonely_?"

"Lonely? Hah! Wouldn't that be a relief? You know what? I'll leave the radio on a Decepticon open channel. Listen to them talk nonsense for eternity."

He got to the door before he stopped.

"No. That's too good for a piece of slag like you. You insult us with all those meatbag terms you use. I'll change the radio to theirs, just for you."

The door slammed shut and locked behind him. He left a dagger, a reachable distance from the cell's bars. The radio played.

George Watsky - Send In the Sun

Send in that sunshine  
Make everything right  
Turn on your love light  
Cause baby I'm coming on by  
Send in that sunshine  
Make everything right  
Cause there ain't no suffering in life  
That don't ease with the passage of time

If stars died of old age  
They wouldn't explode, they'd burn out with a slow fade  
But stars escape life with a gun shot  
Which makes me think they stick a pistol in their sun spot  
Bite the barrel, squeeze the trigger  
Might have cared once, but the obstacles seem bigger  
And they're stuck behind a giant 8 ball  
The milky way is star brains that are smeared across the space wall  
You know the red giant in sector two?  
Yeah, Hector, true, he was a depressing dude  
I think he thought nobody thought about him  
And now that I think about it, I'm liable to guess it's true  
Everybody wants the sun to come and cure their rough moods but suns need love too

I give out energy and don't receive. I'm tired now, I'll go to sleep  
And when this is the coldest solstice, maybe folks'll notice me

Send in that sunshine  
Make everything right  
Turn on your love light  
Cause baby I'm coming on by  
Send in that sunshine  
Make everything right  
Cause there ain't no suffering in life  
That don't ease with the passage of time

Goodbye Maggie, Goodbye Jules  
I wish you'd stuck around, you wise fools  
Cause friends they tend to come and go  
The way the ocean ebbs and flows but there's reminders in the tide pools  
But when the standing water's putrid  
Who am I to say a choice you made was stupid?  
There's a bunch of us who loved you  
Fucking stuck here pointing fingers at ourselves for something you did  
You you you you you packed your problems in a suitcase  
You you you went away forever to a new place  
You left behind a lot of blue faces and bouquets and loose ends like shoelaces  
But my friend, it's too late  
So all my lightweights and barflies, let's raise a pint each time a star dies  
And toast the memory of hard lives  
Filed on the interstellar hard drives and archives

...

 **Matrix**

The road was cool on my tires. I loved my Porsche form. I f*ckin' rocked my army green. The sun shone off my silver parts, and caught the pink others couldn't stop looking at. I was a bad * **ss mother f*** cker.

The other cars revved next to me. The silver one with red stripes and black detail was far too much. They were all attention seekers, but this one was a special annoyance. A custom red Aston Martin drove up next to me. I opened a "COM" link.

"Elf?" I asked, "What're you doing out of the lab?"

"Caught a ground bridge down to see what all the fuss is about."

Every car revved its engines for a final time. Mine purred. This f*cker was not going to f*ck up this race for me. This was mine to win. Mine.

Dust flew into the air and we all sped down the stretch of road. The Aston went to go push a Honda off the road. Idiot. The red-striped racecar led. Curve left: Car out right. Up hill climb: Cars tumbling backwards. Dangerous route ahead: Back country. Its entrance boarded up by wooden boards. I sped up. Racecar in sight, only Elf and I remained. Speed, I am speed. I rammed the racecar through the wood. She didn't stop driving. We were on a dirt road now. Trees covered us every which way but in front and behind. I crashed into her again. Tumble. Transform.

 **Chk-chk-Klnk, and other loud showy noises**

Elf and I against Striker: good match up. Good revenge. I got out my blasters.

"Oh," Elf said, "Now I see where we're going with this." He changed his hand into a circular saw and made the spikes spin. He ran at her.

I rapid-fired at the femme. She dodged Elf and rolled behind a tree. I fired at the large redwood base. My blaster fire penetrated the tree. One shot, two shot, red shot, death shot.

"Timber!"

The tree began to fall. Slowly, slowly, painstakingly slowly it tipped over. I continued to blast it until it crashed into the ground and caused dust to fly just about everywhere, coating my once spotless armor. A red blur emerged from the cloud.

"Matrix!"

"What?"

"You could have killed me?"

"With a tree?"

"A very large tree!"

I had forgotten that he had gone to fight her in close combat. Stupid!

"But, scissors beats paper... and you're metal, and sharp, and—"

"And scratched! Do you know how long it will take to buff this out?"

I walked past him and to the silver leg caught beneath the tree. I ducked down to get a better look at it.

"Looks like she's out." I turned back to the Prima Donna, "Hey Elf—"

"What?" He screamed at me.

"You got your saw-thing all revved?"

"You want me to saw through that?"

"Yup -the tree, not the leg- just making sure we're on the same page this time." I turned back towards the large log, "We gots to tag her somehow. Less questions this way."

"You're an idiot."

"An idiot who's going to carve a whole bunch of things on the bot's face."

 **...**

 **Shadow's P.O.V.**

An alarm sounded on the monitor.

Ratchet stared intensely as he called out in a serious tone, "Arcee, a vehicular form is approaching."

The two-wheeler asked, "Decepticon?"

The monitor zeroed in on a white sedan swerving toward the entrance.

Jack sighed as he face palmed, "Mom."

Arcee put her servos on her hips, "Again?"

"She worries," Jack said.

The car drove up through the tunnel and came to an abrupt stop. Ms. Darby got out and exclaimed, "Hi honey!" She ran up and hugged her son.

"Hey," Jack said back.

"Finished my shift early at the Hospital, so I thought I'd swing by," she said. She turned to Ratchet, "Good to see you again Doctor." Ratchet nodded in acknowledgement. June faced Arcee, "Arcee." Arcee nodded back. She noticed me out of the corner of her eye, "I see you're still functioning Shadow," I rolled my optics in response. The mother asked, "So, where's Optimus?"

Ratchet answered, "On a scouting mission with Bumblebee. Sorry to disappoint."

June kindly jested, "And I wore heels and everything."

Jack went wide eyed, "Mom!" He yelled.

Ratchet did not care in the least. He was absorbed in his work. He turned a knob and observed, "That's odd. This is an extremely unusual magnetic flux, for any planet." A wormhole like signature appeared on the screen.

Bulkhead drove through the base's entrance. Once he stopped, Miko and Raf jumped out while laughing.

Miko asked her friend, "Did you feel the G's on that last turn? Bulkhead's an animal!" she screamed. Miko noticed Jack's mother and stopped her playing. Miko whispered to Raf, "Remember when this used to be a secret clubhouse?"

Both kids walked up to June nonchalantly. Raf reassured, "Don't worry Ms. Darby, we were wearing seatbelts."

June lovingly assured, "I'm sure you were Rafael." She turned to the girl and excitedly asked, "Hi Miko! How's school going?"

Miko broke out in surprise, "Why? What'd you hear?"

Jack explained, "Mom was asking about you and Raf."

June asked her son, "Did I do something wrong?"

Jack turned to his mother. The two bickered.

Miko turned to Raf and whispered, "I can't believe Jack. That school should be a scrap heap. I can't believe everyone brings it up around me." Miko looked up and we exchanged glances. Miko asked, "Shadow?"

"Yes," I hastily replied.

She turned toward Bulkhead. She said, "Bulkhead claims that I need to go to school to get a good job. I know that he was in construction and Ratchet was an engineer. What was your job? Did it need schooling?"

I looked over at the Wrecker. _He wasn't wrong._ Bulkhead's face reeked of desperation. He only wanted the best for his human friend.

I answered, "I'm not the best bot to ask. I never had a job."

Bulkhead stared confused, "But Shadow, you're of the warrior class. How could you not have had a job?"

I explained, "I was of the scout class before the war."

Miko was dumbfounded. She cried, "What do scouts and warriors have to do with education? I don't understand how any of this war mumbo-jumbo has to do with jobs!"

For a brief moment June and Jack stopped to look at us. They soon returned to their conversation.

Ratchet could not work with all of this noise. He passed by to collect a tool.

"Humans," he said, "they never understand anything," The doctor gave an annoyed sigh and explained, "The scout and warrior classes were renamed in the Great War. The scout class is similar to your teenage stage."

"Teenage, young-adult; basically the cool kids of the bunch."

Ratchet ignored me, "Scouts like Bumblebee never got to elevate status due to the war. But, apparently Decepticons did."

I added, "Not all of the scout class worked—"

Bulkhead cut in, "But most of them did. I know my limited education forced me into construction. Shadow, explain to Miko how important education is."

Miko crossed her arms and glared at Bulkhead.

I rubbed the back of my neck with one of my servos, "Well, to Miko's credit," I said, "The laboring class got a head start in physically preparing for the war. My studies didn't do much for me in that regard."

 _If anything, they caused the war._

Miko smiled. Bulkhead shot me a frustrated look.

Ratchet put down his tool. He asked, "I know my engineering knowledge helped. What did you study?"

I passionately answered, "I specialized in philosophy and law. Philosophy led me to question the right and wrong, causing me to join and then rejoin the Autobots. Law, on the other hand, would only be useful outside of both factions' military rules. While I was a Decepticon, I planned to reconstruct our new society, once Megatron had finished his quest for power."

"See Miko?" Bulkhead pointed out, "Education is important."

The girl rolled her eyes.

Ratchet questioned, "Though, the question still stands how the Decepticons celebrated our grand coming of age ceremony during the war. It was highly respected among even the most senile of elders."

"What?" Miko enquired, "You're making no sense Ratch. Why does it matter if this celebration could be preformed during the war? Or even if old guys like you liked it?"

"This celebration," Ratchet spat, "was supposed to welcome the next generation into society as newly realized independent citizens. Autobots such as Bumblebee could not go through with it until the leaders of the society would swear him in at the capital city of Iacon."

I justified my rise in class, "To respond to your intent that the Decepticons disrespectfully completed the ceremony. Megatron claimed to be the true ruler as the conqueror of Kaon. Everything was done by the books: very official."

Ratchet muttered under his breath, "Newly promoted warriors prepared to die for their Lord, and femmes of age to conceive with."

I raised an eyebrow, "What did you say?"

"Nothing," Ratchet glanced at Bulkhead and sarcastically said, "Very official."

Arcee swayed some rope in her servo and demanded, "Let's do this thing Jack," as she walked toward the exit.

Jack tried to follow his friend, but was promptly stopped by his mother.

Ms. Darby exclaimed, "But! I just got here! I brought sandwiches."

Jack defended, "Mom, uh. Look, I really need to help Arcee test her upgraded tracking system," before abandoning his mom.

Ms. Darby pleaded, "Well, just be careful."

Arcee blandly stated, "There's nothing to be careful about. It's just a routine diagnostic."

June argued, "Are you sure you need Jack for that?"

Arcee stopped in annoyance. She angrily sighed.

Bulkhead shouted, "Uh, oh."

Ratchet said, "Bulkhead, I need you back in the field to investigate an odd magnetic disturbance."

Miko cried, "I'll go with!" as she ran to her guardian.

Bulkhead stopped the hyper girl and ordered, "Stay put Miko."

Miko walked back to Ms. Darby and Raf, growling in a rage.

June asked, "Why aren't you going with him?"

Miko turned to Bulkhead and yelled, "Someone thinks it's not safe!"

June questioned, "But it's safe for Jack to go with Arcee?"

Jack walked back and explained, "Mom, totally different."

June put her hands on her hips, "Oh, How?" she asked.

Arcee stated angrily, "Mother knows best Jack." She turned towards the warrior, "Wait up Bulkhead!" Ratchet initiated the ground bridge. Arcee declared, "I'm going with," as she tossed the rope she was holding on the ground. Both bots walked towards the portal as it started to show.

Miko snuck towards the bots in all of the drama.

Jack mumbled in annoyance before glaring at his mom.

Ms. Darby defended, "Uh, what did I say?"

The portal closed. I asked, "Not to interrupt but—"

Ratchet complied, "Go ahead Shadow."

"Where's Miko?" I asked.

We all looked around.

Moments later Arcee COM'd base, "We're going to need a bridge."

Ratchet readied the groundbridge.

Arcee corrected, "Strike that Ratchet. Its only recon."

Ratchet turned off the ground bridge and grumbled to himself.

We stood in silence for a while. Jack was avoiding his mother's gaze. I wished Optimus was here... or Striker. Yeah, Striker: not Optimus. I could spar with Striker. Optimus would only want to talk.

Bulkhead called base to which, Ratchet covertly answered. A surprised look appeared on the doctor's face.

Ratchet asked, "You've been magnetized? Together?"

I walked over and put the COM on speaker. I wanted to hear too. It would distract me from lesser thoughts.

Miko said, "They're inseparable."

Bulkhead added, "And the device that did this is on its way to Megatron."

Ratchet concluded, "A polarity gauntlet. A deceptively simple, but diabolical creation."

Arcee said, "Just tell me you can unhitch us Ratchet."

The doctor replied, "It may simply be a residual magnetic charge providing your current," he paused, "attraction."

Miko cried out, "They're not attracted to each other!"

I laughed a bit. Ratchet rolled his eyes, "But I'm afraid retrieving the gauntlet is our surest bet for reversing its effects." Ratchet turned away from his work, towards us, "Once Megatron gets his hands on the gauntlet—"

Jack inferred, "He'll use it for a whole lot more than attaching notes and family photos to the fridge."

June looked to her son with worry in her eyes, "Jack, I'm not following."

Ratchet turned to her and explained, "Madam, we are forged of metal alloy," he gestured to himself. He grasped his servo into a fist, "If Megatron could repel us with the flick of a switch. We might never again have another shot at him."

 _It's two ways, right? That means we couldn't flee either._

Rafael said, "Instant force field."

"Worse yet," Ratchet said, "He might use it to meld us all into a scrap pile!" He looked up to his monitor, "The good news is that the gauntlet hasn't travelled far. I would strongly advise pursuit."

I offered, "I could go and help."

Ratchet reminded me, "Optimus grounded you."

I sighed and crossed me arms, "I guess this gauntlet isn't that important after all."

Ratchet ignored my response.

Bulkhead stated, "We can catch up faster on wheels."

Arcee killed that idea, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. And snap me in half?"

Bulkhead thought for a moment, "... Right."

Miko exclaimed joyfully, "Sweet! I'll take point."

Arcee negated, "Not this time kid."

Miko questioned, "What! But you said—"

Arcee justified, "That was recon. This is war. I'm not risking your well being, just so you can hit your daily adrenaline quota. Ratchet, Miko needs a bridge."

"Coming right up," Ratchet said.

Miko shouted, "You think Jack's mom is bad! You sound just like her!"

June looked at Jack, "Is that such a bad thing?" She asked.

Jack had difficulty answering. He gave up and stated, "I'm going to go over here." Jack walked away, awkwardly leaving Raf alone to smile comfortingly at the confused mother.

Ratchet opened a ground bridge for Miko. The human walked through annoyed. She stood in silence.

We all stood in silence. We all avoided each other's line of sight for what seemed like hours.

Five minutes later, Arcee COM'd base. Ratchet opened up a ground bridge for the two of them to enter through.

Arcee handed the gauntlet to Ratchet.

Bulkhead handed something else to Miko, "Souvenir, But..."

Arcee added, "We don't advise indoor use."

Miko complained, "Eww. They even finish each others sentences."

Bulkhead pointed to his arm and exclaimed, "Miko! Check it out! New battle scars!"

Miko smiled and took a picture.

Jack welcomed, "Arcee! Hey."

June stopped Jack and stated, "Let the Adults talk." June walked over to the two-wheeler. "Arcee," she said, "I think I owe you an apology."

Arcee asked, "You do?"

June conceded, "I worry. Especially when I fell like I can't control things. Which, with a teenager, is all the time."

Arcee looked at June surprised, and then smiled.

June continued, "Jack and I have always been close. Especially after his dad left... and I guess it's just hard to accept that all that's changing. I mean I knew it would someday. But, you're not the type of girl I thought Jack would be ditching me for."

Arcee happily responded, "I think we'd all been a little guilty of staying attached to the way things were."

Miko shouted, "Shadow come here!"

"What is it Lord Miko?" I sarcastically asked as I walked over to her.

"Arcee and Bulkhead were practically inseparable. Tell them how lame they are!"

"Miko says you two are 'la-may'," I said to them. Then I shielded my mouth from Miko's vision with my servo. I turned to the pair, "Now is when you act all insulted- so Miko can feel satisfied and leave this alone."

Arcee exclaimed, "Oh no! Not lame?"

Bulkhead dropped to his knees and begged the human, "Miko, I beg of you to take it back. Not lame. That's awful."

Miko angrily shouted at me, "Ha-ha. I can't believe you Shadow. Next you're going to tell me you like someone- like these two lovebirds!"

I looked away and hid my blush well. I smiled, and then covered my mouth with my servo. I thought of Dreadwing and then of Wheeljack. It took me a few more seconds before Orion or Megatron reached the edges of my thoughts. I took a page out of Starscream's book and decided to act. I shook my head and elongated my response, "Noooooooo." I had definitely overacted this. Just like Screamy. I was too on point.

"You like someone?" Arcee asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I calmly said back.

"Could we guess?" Bulkhead asked.

Miko threw her arms down in anger. She yelled, "I can't believe this!"

"Would we know him?" asked Arcee.

I tipped my head to the side, "Possibly."

Bulkhead asked, "Is he here?"

"No."

 _Optimus?_

Arcee squinted her optics, "On the Nemesis?"

"Certainly not."

 _Megatron?_

Miko growled. I smiled at the human. It was obvious she did not like any of this.

 _Funny._

I pointed a finger at her and jested, "You definitely would not know them."

Miko's eyes went wide as she yelled, "Them?!"

I covered my mouth with my extended servo. I realized my error. I turned toward the hall, which led to my room. I announced, "That's my cue to leave."

Miko cried out, enjoying the drama, "It's bad enough that these guys have one in mind -excluding that their one is the other- why is it that you, have to like two!"

I started to walk away, "Never said two."

Bulkhead asked, "Is it two?"

"Game's over!" I shouted.

Miko whispered to Bulkhead, "It's totally two."

Arcee called out, "Autobot or Decepticon?"

"I'm already gone."

I walked back into my room. I was smiling like an idiot. I could not believe myself. It was bad enough that I fell for either mech. But my dumb spark had decided to choose rivals... twice. _Wonderful_ , I thought sarcastically.

...

 **Matrix's P.O.V.**

My servos hurt. They were covered in scratches, my entire arms were. _D*mned racing_ , I thought to myself. _Why did I have to go for another? Why couldn't I just accept out win and follow Elf back to base?_ I was sitting on one of Knockout's medical tables, in the Med Bay.

"Now, now Matrix. What did I say about racing alone?"

"Shut it Elf."

"Well that's extremely polite of you. I almost forgot you had a spark."

 _Oh right, he's a dick._

"Just fix me," I spat.

"Those humans can sure be brutal. Just look at what they did to your paint job."

I rolled my optics. He had just finished buffing his.

"Humans..." I said, "Hah. Megatron's the cruel one."

"Hmm? The leader of the Decepticons is cruel? Are you sure the humans didn't damage your processors? What could give you that idea?"

"Those fragging Shadow laws."

"Hah. You name them that?"

"I thought the name fit."

"You really think they're about her?"

"That's what Snow said."

"Ooh. Scandalous. What else did the advisor say?"

"Megatron misses the warrior more than anything else. That the anti-fun rules were put in place to ensure no one else defected. He wants to keep tabs on everyone."

"Any interesting ones?"

"Everything Megatron does is off the books."

"Soundwave's not listening. You can go into the details."

"Megatron's growing desperate: in his spare time he looks for her. I heard that he'd do almost anything to get her back."

"That's what the tagging was for?"

"Sending Ghost in wouldn't hurt. If all went well, we'd be down an Autobot paint-scratching team."

"Anything else?"

"Snow also said that every day she's gone, Bucket-head looks worse upon Starscream."

"What do you mean by that last part?"

"With every growing day, he is reminded of her absence. Megatron is growing spiteful. He cannot blame the femme for leaving. It was Starscream who had tried to kill her after all. With each passing day, he thinks worse of Starscream."

"Seems like it's only a matter of time before something happens to the commander."

...

 **Shadow's .**

I heard a knock from outside. I sat up on my berth. Optimus opened my door.

"Good morning Optimus."

"How can a morning be good, Shadow?"

I smiled.

"It's a human expression."

"Agent Fowler uses those."

 _Humans in general use those._

"Yep. Is there something you wanted?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

"I'm fine. Why?"

"You've isolated yourself in your room."

"I was sleeping."

"You didn't join everyone to receive your weekly rations."

"That was today? I had completely forgotten."

"Come. Ratchet should give you yours."

"Sure." I got up and followed the Prime.

"I heard about yesterday," he said.

"From who?"

"Bulkhead seemed concerned that you had not exited your room since..."

"Since when?"

"Since you had a falling out with Arcee."

"So, that's what he decided to go with."

"Did something else happen?"

We arrived at Ratchet's medical station.

"There you are Death's Shadow."

"'Morning Ratchet. Where'd everyone go?"

"Striker's asleep. The rest have curbside duty. Step over here."

"Got it."

Ratchet grabbed a spiked tube that connected to our energon supply. Everything was very calculated. He pricked my arm. I cringed. I received my rations. He removed the tube. I stepped back.

"I am still not used to that."

"Yes, you were used to... how exactly did you waste it again?"

"We drank it. We usually enjoyed it in a meal type fashion."

 _Just like on Cybertron._

"Tsk-tsk. So wasteful." The doctor returned to his work.

 _Wasteful? It's what you do that's weird._

"Shadow."

"Yes Optimus?"

"I- I... you," the mech took a large breath.

"What is it Optimus?"

"...It's nothing. I'll tell you later."

"In the meantime, I should reconnect with Arcee and Bulkhead."

...

 **Optimus Prime's P.O.V.**

 _I love you._

"What is it Optimus?"

 _I want you to be my sparkmate. What do you think of me?_ I looked into her crimson optics. She was beautiful. She stared back with questioning eyes.

"It's nothing. I'll tell you later."

"In the meantime, I should reconnect with Arcee and Bulkhead." Shadow said before she turned away and walked toward the entrance. I watched her hips sway back and forth. My optics were glued to her. I shook my head. I turned back to Ratchet.

"You really should be more careful with your spark."

"What are you talking about, old friend?"

"I see the way that you look at her. I don't think she'll stay an Autobot forever."

"Why not? You don't know her as I do."

"I am aware of the many conversations the two of you have had. More so am I aware of your heavy watch upon her. I know this grounding is all a ploy to keep her close to you."

"You do not understand old friend. She is... different. She is nice and intelligent and kind and sweet and—"

"I understand Optimus. Your sight is blinded by what the humans call love."

"I am not blind. If anything I see more clearly than before."

"Optimus, she was a Decepticon for far too long to ignore. That in itself is an irredeemable quality. It is only a matter of time before she returns."

 _She's not irredeemable._

"No," I told him, "She is different."

"How do you know?"

"My spark tells me so."

"Believe whatever you want. Personally, I wouldn't without proof."

"Fine. I'll ask her."

Shadow was talking to Bulkhead and Arcee. I watched her mouth open and shut as she produced audio that my receptors could not detect. Once they had finished, I hurried to her side.

"Hey Optimus," she said in a kind tone, "Is something wrong?"

"Shadow," I paused, "I must know something."

"What is it?" She stared into my optics. "You can ask me anything."

"Under any circumstance, would you return to the Decepticons?"

Silence.

"Well?"

"Only if one of your lives depended on it."

"Why?"

"It's the right thing to do. Besides, wouldn't any of you do the same for me?"

"Of course."

"You're lying Optimus."

"What? No, I'm not. What are you talking about?"

"You are a terrible liar."

"No I'm not."

I looked into her optics. She stared back into mine. Her crimson eyes were warm and captivating.

"Look me in the eyes and tell me that you are a good liar."

"I am an honest mech."

She smiled.

"You're right Optimus. You are."

Bulkhead shoved her back. Shadow lost her balance and started to fall forward. I caught her before she hit the ground. I lifted her back to her feet and let her go. She took a step backward and blushed.

"Thank you Optimus."

"It was my pleasure."

I looked back into her optics, and she looked back into mine. She was smiling. I smiled back. Her eyes were something else. They were kind, inviting, comforting... She reminded me of my fallen friend. She looked down at the ground and her smile faded.

"I'm sorry Optimus."


	15. Rock Bottom

Rock Bottom

"Do we have an understanding?"

"Yes my Lord."

"Then get back to your post."

"Right away Lord Megatron."

"Remember drone, fail me, and you die."

...

"Oh, come on Optimus!"

"I am sorry Shadow, but I cannot relieve your grounded status."

The femme sighed and stormed off towards the humans.

"You coming or what?"

"You heard Optimus, Miko."

"I know. I was asking about the rock concert afterward."

"About that..."

"Bulkhead and I are going to tear it up! Did you know this is the only American date Slash-monkey will preform?"

"Come on Miko, quit pestering her."

"Who asked you Raf?"

"I think I'll just stay here."

"Fine, be lame and do that."

Arcee and Jack drove into the compound. Miko turned to her guardian.

"Bulkhead, we ready to rumble?"

Miko ran off.

"Staying here isn't lame. Don't let her get to you."

I watched the ground bridge open briefly, before closing behind Arcee, Bulkhead, Jack, and Miko.

"It's not fair."

"It's a scouting mission."

"So? I want to go. I don't want to be pent up here. You know I used to actually be a scout? I could have been useful."

"You can still be useful. Ratchet and I were going to run some diagnostics on our system. You could help."

"The entire system?"

"No. Mainly radio."

"Oh, so like scanner stuff?"

"I don't exactly know. Let's ask Ratchet."

We walked over to the doctor. He was talking to Optimus. We waited. Optimus called over to Bumblebee. The two left out of the main entrance. Ratchet acknowledged us.

"Rafael, are you ready to run the system checks?"

"Yeah, I've configured my computer and everything. Could Shadow also help?"

"We always need help on the Decepticon tracking system. Shadow, you can stand over there," he pointed to the NAV system hardware, "and work on that. If you have any questions, you can bother us over here."

I nodded and moved.

"Ratchet, that's not very nice," Raf said behind me.

I paid them no mind. I worked. I saw that Bulkhead and Arcee's beacons went offline. I knew it was the cave systems. I had witnessed similar during the war. I toyed around with the system. I was checking new frequencies and to summarize the boredom: imagine playing a game of battle ship in which your opponent's ships are constantly moving. I got two consecutive hits. Each was scrambled, probably high level Cons. I looked more into their reflecting signals. I noted that one was more covert than the other. I ran diagnostics on the secretive one. His beacon was not transmitting out. Not to anyone- not even to the Nemesis. I tried to crack the signals, but could not. I walked over to Raf and Ratchet.

"Hey Raf, could you help me out?"

"Sure, what is it Shadow?"

"Long story short, I need you to scramble codes on these two Decepticons."

"Need?" Ratchet interjected.

"It's more of a want. But, it could be promising."

"Of course I'll help."

We all walked back to my station. Raf started to crack the codes.

Ratchet started, "So then, it seems we have time."

"For the explanation," I said.

"Exactly—"

"Ratchet, stop it."

"It's fine Raf. Basically I was throwing shots into the dark- trying to uncover hidden signals- Then, I found these. One of them is not transmitting to the Nemesis. The other is..."

"I got it. So here are the cons. Megatron and Starscream."

"Wow. This could actually be useful. You two stay here, I'm going to go contact Optimus."

Ratchet left.

Raf said, "So, it seems that Starscream's beacon was turned off. I don't think he knows."

"Oh, okay then."

"What is it?"

"It seems Megatron plans on executing Starscream."

"How do you know?"

"I'd seen it on Cybertron. Usually to address insubordination during the war."

"Their signals just disappeared."

"They entered the cave systems."

"But, that's where our teammates are!"

"They'll be fine."

"Really?"

"What do you want me to say?"

"I want you to go out there and help."

"I'm grounded."

"They're under ground. We can't hear from them. If they needed help, we wouldn't be able to tell."

"You go and inform Ratchet. It can't come from me..."

"Got it!"

"You know what? I'll go find Striker. If the others need help, we should have an option."

Raf ran over to the medic. I stared at the NAV system. Starscream's signal reappeared. His was the only one that did. Then, it disappeared again. I moved my feet and forced myself back to the room-lined hallway. Striker wasn't in hers. I considered going back to the 'command center'. But what would the point of that been? Leave myself as the only option? Selfish: Possible, but selfish. I checked the training room.

Upon my opening the door, a hunk of metal slid to the floor. Striker had just cut it in half.

"You gonna stand there Con, lover?" She asked me, "Or have you come to fight?"

...

 **Snowstorm's POV**

"Soundwave?"

The communications officer turned away from his post and faced me.

"Why did Megatron leave with Starscream?"

No response.

I peered over his shoulder. Soundwave was overseeing our communications. He monitored Megatron, but not Starscream.

He sidestepped, blocking my line of sight.

"Is he going to die?"

Soundwave turned back to his work.

I turned away. I did not like this. I understood Starscream has made some mistakes, but didn't everyone?

I waited in silence. Megatron entered through the main doors. He was followed by a weak and damaged looking Starscream. I was glad that my teammate still lived.

...

 **Shadow's POV**

Everyone was rejoicing in the main area.

Arcee retold, "Megatron was about to end Starscream—"

"Was about to?" I questioned. "Why didn't he?"

"Calm down Shadow, or you'll miss the rest of our adventure."

"Yeah, you'll miss the part where Bulkhead heroically—"

I sighed and turned away. "He deserved to die."

Prime walked over to me. "How can you say that?"

"You have no idea anything of what he's done."

"Then tell me."

"He has had multiple attempts to extinguish Megatron's spark."

"And? Isn't that a good thing?"

"You don't understand."

"Then make me understand."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

I stared into Optimus's optics.

"We have a difference in experience Optimus. I could speak for an hour, but there would still be know way of knowing if you, or any Autobot who hasn't had the same undergoing of events, would be able to fully comprehend the interlocking ends that form my opinion."

 _He tried to kill Megatron._

"Does that mean you won't even try?"

"Trying wouldn't matter. You're too different to understand."

 _I didn't want Megatron to die._

"No, I am not."

"Now you're just being stubborn."

"You're being close-minded."

"Fine, I'll submit. I'll use the most transferable description possible."

 _He tried to kill Megatron._

"As long as you're trying."

"Starscream is annoying. He is arrogant, power-hungry, manipulative, condescending, relentless, unremorseful, dangerous, and constantly sacrifices the lives of others to further his own goals –and- he tried to kill Megatron."

"How is any of that worse than Megatron?"

 _I knew you wouldn't understand._

"Megatron attempts to minimalize casualties and heirs on the side of caution. He wouldn't slaughter millions on a whim."

"And Starscream would?"

"I have stopped him on multiple occasions from doing just that."

"Stopped him from wiping out the east coast."

"Stopped him from doing much worse than that."

"Really? I never saw Starscream as capable of such action."

"You should never underestimate Decepticons. They will always do their best to deceive you. It's in their name."

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Never mind... As Agent Fowler says, I lost my train of thought."

 _You're lying._

I smiled. He used a human phrase.

 _He's being Orion. Avoiding confrontation, being nice, and using a human term._

"Well then, I could help you look for it."

"It is an expression, Shadow. The train does not exist."

I laughed, "I know Optimus. Trust me, I know."

Miko called over to me, "Hey Shadow! We're about to head out for the concert. Are you sure you don't want to come?"

"Yes, I'm sure. You guys have fun."

"We could have fun," Optimus whispered.

I turned back to the Prime, "What was that Optimus? I couldn't hear you."

"I said that we could have fun."

"What did you have in mind?"

"... A movie?"

I laughed.

"We don't have to if—"

"No Optimus, I wasn't laughing at the suggestion. I was laughing at your delivery. You paused, and then asked it as a question. That's not you. That's usually how I would say something like that."

"That's why you laughed?"

"That is correct Prime. Now... what movie should we watch?"

"It can be your choice. I do not know of many movies, I have just heard that they are fun to watch in pairs."

"In pairs? Hmmm..."

"What is it?"

"Never mind. So, you honestly don't care what type of movie?"

"As I said before, it is your choice."

"Fairy Tale."

...

 **Ghost**

"Your watcher is not here."

"My watcher... you mean the vehicon? I'm giving him a rest."

"He's not at his post."

"He's also not the thing that brought you here? Is it another assignment? Test? New experimental surgery?"

"Shut up traitor."

 _I am not a traitor._

"Tarn would be ashamed."

...

"You had the chance, the ability to carry out orders, and you decided not to."

"Insubordinate? You've come all the way down here, to call me, that?"

"I graced you with a visit..."

 _Because?_

"To question why you did not extinguish the spark of... Starscream."

"I was tired."

"Before then. You knew about the dark energon. You had witnessed how far he was willing to go for power."

"I didn't have enough evidence."

"Not enough evidence? He was willing to raise an undead army!"

"Ambition is hard to decipher. Whether it was for his good, or yours—"

"Mine?"

"It could have been for you."

"To extinguish my spark."

"To vanquish your enemies."

"You are blind."

"Then why are you asking me what I saw?"

"Humor me, what did you see? What saving qualities could Starscream possibly possess?"

"Loyalty for one. To the Decepticon cause. If you were to leave us, not that I would want you to My Lord, but if you were, he would ensure the cause would continue."

"And you know this how?"

"Ambition. Power-hungry. Arrogant. Brilliant. Cowardly. He has that special concoction that seeks success, and wouldn't let us fail. He'd lost that way. You can't be successful without an army. He knows that."

"He was trying to raise one. Right from under me. He was trying to raise one."

"Insubordination is difficult. Resentment, jealousy, pure unadulterated rage, all could be absent, or the thing that gives one their rank. Survival. This is a war, right?"

"And you are my soldier. Not Starscream's. Mine. You are a failure from your creator's spark. You let him live."

"Some part of me just couldn't let him die. Maybe it was the powerlessness... He didn't seem capable of it. I-I didn't want to kill a Con, unjustified. You can't take that back. A death is a death. And if I was wrong? That would have been a mistake I could never rectify."

"You're the mistake that needs to be rectified. Follow orders. Don't give me reason to visit you again."

"Yes, Lord Megatron."

...

 **Shadow**

Optimus and I were sitting down on a large couch in a lounge, used usually when the humans weren't around.

"That was a good movie," Optimus said.

"See? Too bad Ratchet and Arcee didn't want to watch it with us."

"They misjudged it."

"Exactly Optimus. Exactly."

"Shadow, I have a question."

"What is it Optimus?"

I looked into his Optics.

"Well, it's less of a question and more of a weirdly placed observance."

"Go ahead and shoot. That was a human expression that means 'say it'."

"The humans fell in love in nature."

"That is correct. Actually, yeah, that happens a lot in fairy tales."

"Does it ever happen outside of fairy tales?"

"Maybe. It must have at some point for it to happen in every fairy tale."

"Every fairy tale?"

"Pretty much."

I got up and started to walk back to my room. I turned around to face Optimus. He hadn't moved. He was still staring blankly at the screen.

"You should go to sleep Prime. You need to lead tomorrow."

"I will. I just need a moment."

"Good night. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good night Shadow."

I walked to my room and slept. When I woke up, I returned to the main area. Everyone was already up and standing around. I stood still on the outskirts of the room and watched. Miko was complaining to Bulkhead. Raf was plugging in his electronic devices, and Bee was motioning for the kid to leave them. Jack was hiding behind Arcee, he kept looking out from behind her at... Why were both agent Fowler and Ms. Darby here? They were talking to each other. Ratchet was gathering supplies. The supplies looked human. Optimus was... where was he? I couldn't find him. Was this a search and rescue mission? I did not want to join the group. So, I stayed where I was and watched. I thought of the different places Optimus could have been. Maybe with Striker. Hopefully not that.

Ratchet opened a ground bridge. Optimus drove out of it. So, this wasn't a rescue mission? Then, what was it?

Ratchet called, "Optimus, we are all set on this end."

"Thank you old friend. The site is clear."

Okay. What was going on? I pensively grabbed my chin with my servo and thought. There must have been a good reason for all of this. Arcee walked up to me.

"Are you ready?"

"For what?"

"A camping trip. Jack's mom and Fowler will be chaperoning the kids."

"Oh... I guess that makes sense. Thanks Arcee."

"Don't mention it. Us girls have to look out for one another."

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind. Say, whose idea was this?"

"Optimus. He said that we shouldn't take this planet for granted, and enjoy all it has to offer."

 _In nature._ I –mentally- was swept into a state of ecstasy and amusement.

"Cool. So, when are we leaving?"

"Any minute now. Striker, the lucky fool, is already there. Hunting down a 'wolverine' I bet. She won't stop pestering me about it. 'I want a rival just like wolverine' she says. What a card." Silence. "I should go back and check on Jack. He's been a little anxious today."

...

"Is it Fowler and Darby?"

"Seems likely."

"Thanks again Arcee."

"No problem."

 _She's nice. I'm glad I'm an Autobot._

Arcee walked back to Jack. She -along with the others- transformed. I did the same and drove over to the group.

Ratchet announced, "I'm putting the ground bridge on a timer. We have a minute to get through. So, everyone should just leave already."

Bee revved his engine. Arcee sped out, Jack and Ms. Darby riding on her seat. Bee raced after her, Raf in his back seat. Bulkhead followed, Miko in his passenger seat. I drove out after him. The portal took us to a wooded area. Once we arrived, the humans got out and everyone transformed. Striker greeted us. She had blood on her foot.

Fowler opened up Prime's trailer. He and Arcee started to unload it. Everyone spread the objects around the large, flat, site.

Ratchet was looking at the small supply of simple items he and the humans had packed. He complained, "I still don't see why we have to be so far from basic technology."

"Come on Ratchet, if I can do it, so can you," Raf said back.

Miko had put her bag down in the dirt before she went to help. When she returned to it to pick it up, a large centipede crawled up it and surprised her. She kicked her bag across the site and screamed, "Ah! Bugs, spiders, I hate nature!"

Bulkhead dusted off his human friend's bag and brought it to her, "Come on Miko, Nature isn't so bad. Just look at that squirrel, isn't it cute?"

"Cute? That thing could tear my eyes out! Bulk, I want you to destroy everything! That tree, that other tree, you know what, why don't we just burn the entire forest down!"

Striker laughed, "Hah, that'd be too easy. Nature's not much of a challenge."

Optimus walked over to the trio and said, "Starting a forest fire would be irresponsible. The many living creatures that live here depend on this ecosystem. Burning down this forest could endanger all of them."

"Ugh! You are such a boy scout!"

"Boy scout?" Jack ran over, "Did someone say boy scout?"

"I did you lame-o."

"Miko, I would just like you to know that I used to be a boy scout. My training has prepared me, well, for any scenario that we might face here, today."

Miko rolled her eyes, "Great. This is exactly how I wanted to spend my day. Sandwiched between nature lovers."

Striker laughed.

"Come on Miko," Bulkhead said, "why don't you want to give nature a chance?"

"I grew up in Tokyo, Bulk. It's not the most nature-y place."

"City beats forest," Striker said. "Not the best match-up, I'll admit."

I cut in, "Well, I hate to break up this conversation, but I believe we still have work to do or something? Right?"

"Yay. Work. How fun."

By now, everyone was gathered around this group.

Optimus ignored Miko, "Yes, right. The humans need to retrieve food and we must finish setting up the campsite."

Agent Fowler put his arm around Jack's shoulders and said, "I can take the boys here on a good ol' fashion fishing trip."

June said, "That sounds great! Jack has never gone fishing before. That should be fun for you honey."

"I don't know about that Mom. Shouldn't us men help set up camp and do the heavy lifting around here?"

Miko defensively said, "What? You don't think us girls can do some hard work around here? We can set up the camp."

"Would you two stop your yapping?" Ratchet said, "I think it's decided that the males should go fish and the females should set up the camp. Isn't that right Optimus?"

Optimus looked down at the ground. His mouth fell on the ends, as if he were frowning. His eyebrows furrowed, and his optics dimmed.

"But... Fine Ratchet," he didn't argue. "Let's split up the groups and complete the tasks. We should reunite as soon as they are done."

I patted Optimus's back, "Sounds good, divide and conquer. The work'll be done before we know it."

Fowler grabbed fishing poles and had the mechs carry other things out of the site. As they left I heard Fowler ask, "So Prime, have you ever gone fishing before?"

Once they were out of sight, I turned my attention back to our group. June took charge, "Okay team, Miko, you help me with the tents. Striker: you make whatever sleeping-places robots have. Arcee: you make the campfire area. Shadow: you make the eating area. Once those jobs are done, we can assign the rest of the jobs. Alright, break!"

Striker finished first. I think she viewed this as a competition, just like everything else, I guess. I did my best setting up logs for the humans to sit at, and then attended to the small details of improving Arcee's fire pit. The work was fairly easy. We didn't talk much during it. Once we were done with our first task, we received our second, and third, all until the site was completed. It hadn't taken long for us to finish our work. The males wouldn't return 'till later, (because fishing apparently takes time), we decided to go on a nature hike. June and Miko led, (incase they came across other humans and could warn us), Striker drove off to find a road, I couldn't have guessed we were too far away from a road, since she drove off so quickly, which left Arcee and I to follow the humans, alone. We could hear them, due to our superior hearing, but we were too far back for them to hear us.

Arcee 'broke the ice', "So Shadow," she said, "I've noticed that you've been spending a lot of quality time with Optimus. Are you going to make a move?"

I felt giddy inside and blushed. I quickly calmed myself down enough to reply with a straight face.

"No, he isn't for me. Or, what I mean to say is that I am not for him. I don't really deserve him. He could do much better."

"Really? And how do you know that?"

"Arcee, I used to know Optimus back on Cybertron, before the war."

"You knew him?"

"We were great friends."

"What happened?"

"That's not really important. What is important: is that we were never meant to be together. Not then, not now."

"I think you're avoiding the question."

"What about you and Bulkhead?"

"What about us?"

"You guys have some good chemistry. I notice that you both finish each other's sentences a lot. That must be a good sign."

"You really think it would work out between us?"

"No doubt in my mind."

"Really? Because I was thinking—"

"Sorry Arcee." I stopped the femme, "But what does that look like to you, over there?" I pointed to a low cave with shimmering blue rocks.

"It looks like an energon deposit."

The humans had noticed we weren't moving. They made their way back to us.

"What is it?" June asked.

"Possibly dangerous." I replied.

"Ms. Darby, stay here with Miko. Shadow and I will be back soon."

Arcee and I made our way down to the cavern. The blue rocks had in fact been energon shards. Arcee scouted the area while I cut as many shards as I could carry. When Arcee returned, she said that she found some remnants of Decepticon activity. We decided that I should go bring what energon I had cut back to the base, and that she and the humans should continue on their walk. I didn't complain at this, rather, I took what little energon I had and left.

I walked on our path through the trees back to the site, put the energon down, and thought. I had decided to transform the energon shards into a delectable meal. I decided to this because there was more energon in the cave to take for other reasons. And on top of that, we still had a full supply back at our base. Or, at least I was told that it was full. Maybe I assumed it was full. Maybe, I know that my recent injury had taken a large sum of energon to fix. I upgraded the campfire to be able to cook the energon at a higher heat. I used some surrounding materials to create makeshift cooking pots that would be fit for human blacksmiths, and set the energon to fire. At some point in my past, cooking energon had just become muscle memory. I shifted the containers and did, I don't even remember what. But, what I did felt right, and so I did it. I knew from experience that I was making two separate dishes, one meant primarily for sustenance, and the other secondarily for... pleasure? Human terminology would translate these to dinner and dessert. Anyway, I was focused on perfecting this meal as I always did. Since this was some intense chemistry and a single mistake could ruin everything: I was a little preoccupied.

While I cooked: the females returned, Striker came back to ramble, the males returned, the females brought the males to the energon deposit, Fowler gutted the fish he caught, the group who had left for the energon deposit had returned to the campsite, Agent fowler started to cook his fish, the group talked about how they fought Decepticons and the mine blew up with all the remaining energon in it, and Agent Fowler finished cooking his fish.

I took my concoctions off the flame. I left the dessert cubes to cool and divvied the drink among seven cups for us. The humans ate: we drank. The Autobots commented on how the energon tasted amazing and how they wished they could eat the same way, all the time. Ms. Darby made s'mores with the humans. I gave each Autobot a dessert cube. The Autobots said that it was the best meal they had eaten all war. All but Optimus said it was the best thing they'd eaten in their entire life. What could I say? I had more rudimentary equipment than I was used to.

Once we were done eating, members of the group went to sleep. Optimus and I stargazed and had a meaningful conversation. We fell asleep next to each other. I wish I could have been in his arms.


	16. Partners

Partners

She was crying. In every sense of the word, she was crying. That's where I found her. Her knees, pulled up to her chest, her hands covering her eyes, she was sobbing. That's the first sound I noticed. Her weakness in breath. Energon leaked through the cracks between her fingers, rolled down her hands, and welled up in a puddle beneath her. It was a perfect blue. Sobbing true: perfect blue.

I was silent. I didn't know how to act, or react. The door closed behind me and I couldn't do much but stare. Megatron's words returned to me. I had to work. I-I couldn't shirk my responsibilities. Not again.

I walked to the monitor and brought up today's plan. Training first, then lab, then back here for sleep. Food would be redelivered tomorrow. But, feeding schedules usually didn't matter, they never did. She wouldn't eat. Her crying lost most of its noise. I looked over at her from behind the terminal, behind the metal bars. She was shaking: trembling. Her chest cavity rose and fell in stressed tremors. It seemed as if her optics' waterfall had run dry. She was silent now. Her energy was gone. Energy she would need in her training session later.

"You need to eat," I said.

Silence.

"I'm not putting up with your insubordination. Eat."

Her arms were trembling. She wiped her face of excess energon and opened her mouth as if to say something. She had not spoken in awhile.

I picked up the last cup of energon she refused to acknowledge, opened the gate, and walked up to her. I towered over her. I stretched out the cup to her. I needed to ensure that she ate. I would not fail Megatron again.

"Eat."

She did not move. Her crimson eyes were fixed on something in the distance.

"Eat," I said.

She turned her head to look at me. Her optics were a dull, low-light red. She did not reach out her hand, not even for the measly units needed to take the cup.

"A cup so close, and you can't take it? Pathetic."

She turned her head away from me. Her chest contracted. More energon fell from her optics. She wiped away each drop as it fell, but she grew tired quickly. She covered her face. Her heavy breathing turned into sobbing. 'What caused this' I thought to myself, 'was it the word pathetic?' She seemed fine until then. I stood there for some time. This wasn't like before. Something about her didn't seem the same. Nothing about the situation made any sense. I didn't know what to do.

"Stop crying," I said.

She did not.

"Stop it," I said, "Take the energon and drink."

She sobbed through her hands, into her knees.

Something was different. My approach wasn't working. Something in her, maybe it was the puddle that leaked from her, or the vulnerability of it all, but something I saw, something in her optics maybe, something clicked in me that hadn't before. I cared for her. Maybe that was it. I wasn't sure. But, two things were: the first was that she was in pain, and the second was that I couldn't fail Megatron. But, I didn't know how to connect the two. I only knew what I was instructed to know. And what I was instructed to know wasn't much help. But, what else could I do? I needed to get her to eat: To reach out her arm and take the cup.

"You know," I said, "Decepticons who don't do as they are told," I paused, "are the same Decepticons who are punished by the DJD."

Her sobbing increased. Her wails were louder now. And I-I couldn't take it anymore. She was in pain. I could see that now. I just wanted her to stop, and force wasn't helping.

I slid down next to her, sat my back against the wall, the same one that supported her, and put one my arms around her shoulders. I pulled the crying femme closer into my chest. Although my audio receptors were closer to her, something about her noise seemed muffled. I could feel her breathing collide with mine, I steadied the shakiness in her arms, her head rested on my shoulder, and her eyes stopped spilling energon. Something about her started to rest. This eased my stress. Something about her felt familiar.

"Just drink," I said.

I felt her spark beat in sync with my own. Something was the same. But, her pain was different. Her misery was real.

"You're just a victim," I said, "That's why you won't drink. It's the pain, right?"

Silence: A calm silence. Her lying there, right here with me, there was something peaceful about it. Something serene.

"I bet your throat's dry too. Energon might help with that. Make the pain go away. Even if it's just a little less."

Silence.

I sighed.

Nothing was working.

I brought the cup to her lips, they were open, just barely, but they were still open. She was the one who opened them. I waited for her to take the cup, but she did not. I tipped the cup and poured. Her actions were weak. I couldn't tell if she had swallowed the drink.

"Ghost," I said, "I need you to drink this. Please."

If not for her spark beat, I could feel nothing.

"Ghost," I said, "You have to drink this."

No response.

"You need to regain your strength. You need it for training."

Silence. I tried a different approach.

"Ghost," I said, "If you won't do this, I won't be doing my job. My job is to make sure you do yours. And," I choked on my words, "You were right. I am just a drone. If I can't do my job, Megatron's going to kill me. He's going to replace me." I closed my eyes and felt her leaning on me. "I'm going to be dead. And you're going to be here. And you'll still be in pain, but the next guy won't realize that. He'll be as hard-headed as I was. And I was hard-headed, I know that now. I was just trying to do my job. And my job was to get you to do yours. And I did that. And I'm sorry."

She gulped.

"You have nothing to be sorry about," she said. Her eyes were soft, weak, faded, but soothing all the same. "You see, just as I see."

...

"Optimus I'm sorry."

"For what Shadow?"

"Before, I said that I just couldn't explain why I was so angry at Starscream. I wanted to apologize for not trying harder. I should have been more descriptive."

"But, you did try to explain. Are you referring to when you implied that I could not understand?"

"Yes, I'm sorry about that too. It's just that Starscream has done some pretty despicable stuff and I was getting too caught up in all of it."

"How so? You do not seem like the type to—"

 _Deceive?_

"I'm the type to show my revenge through not forgiving. It took me a lot of thought to get to this conclusion."

"And the reason you despise Starscream?"

"While I was a Decepticon, he's made some dodgy calls that have gotten many of my good friends killed. On top of that, he used to always use me as a scape goat and take advantage of me—"

"Take advantage? Did Starscream ever..."

"What? No! It's not like that. It's just that, well..."

"You know that you can tell me anything right?"

 _I still have feelings for you._

"I've been doing some thinking and have been trying to put myself in his position. Idiotic I know."

"What did you discover?"

"For starters that I wouldn't want me as an enemy, haha. Yeah, that's not funny. What I found Optimus, is that, in the current scenario, I am the bad guy. See, I can loathe and hate all I want, but none of that can undo the past. If peace between both parties is ever to be achieved, we must be able to forgive and forget."

"That's very thoughtful of you, Shadow." Optimus jested, "Are you ready to forgive him and work towards peace?"

"Ha. Not yet. I still hate his guts. Funny joke though."

Alarms emanated from the monitor, Ratchet went to investigate.

Ratchet turned to us from the monitor, "Optimus" he called.

Optimus averted his attention from me and walked over to his teammate.

"Our scanners have detected a Decepticon Energy profile. But it's ancient."

They both stared at the monitor.

"The past has a way of catching up with the present Ratchet."

I walked up to the two mechs, "What's going on?"

Optimus explained, "There is an energon spike at the site of the Harbinger's crash."

Ratchet started assembling the team and readying the ground bridge.

"What does that have to do with the past?"

"Two years ago..."

"Yeah?"

"You were with Megatron."

"In deep space doing stuff. What's your point?"

"You should come with us. And see for yourself."

"Cool. So, am I officially ungrounded?"

"Erm, only if you promise to follow my orders."

"Yes sir, Optimus, sir." I tried saluting my leader. He chuckled in response.

"None of that is necessary, but thank you."

"You're welcome," I smiled at him. His faceplate grew a light shade of red, as did mine.

"Autobots!" Optimus called, "Roll out!"

We all ran through the portal into a ship, all of us, but Ratchet. We all reached the Harbinger. This ship seemed to me like a maze that went on forever. We walked past another corner of the long hallway.

Arcee exclaimed, "Airachnid!"

"Surrender!" Optimus added on.

The femme growled and scuttled away with her spidery legs. Arcee sprinted in front of our team after Airachnid. We ran after her. They rounded another corner.

 _Why does the Harbinger have to be so much like a maze?_

I heard Starscream yell in the distance, "Airachnid!"

 _It seems Screamy and Arcee are on the same wavelength._

"You traitor!"

The sound of a power drill rang about the ship.

We rounded the corner. I saw Starscream wrapped in Airachnid's web. Bits of dirt were falling on him from Airachnid's hole. Arcee and Optimus ran by the commander. Arcee climbed up the tunnel.

Optimus yelled at her, "Arcee, wait!"

I sighed.

"Should someone help her? Optimus?"

"Hah!" Striker yelled, "I'm almost insulted you didn't think me." The femme climbed up the hole in the ceiling after the two femmes.

 _Great_ , I thought to myself.

"I will go support them," Optimus said. "You three, transport Starscream to the surface."

Optimus ran back to where we entered the ship.

"Shadow, how nice to see you."

"Starscream shut it."

"Okay."

"Shadow, you don't really think we have to carry this fool do we?" Asked Bulkhead.

"Optimus told us to."

"Yeah but, he's covered by web. We could get sticky."

Bee beeped, "Grow up Bulkhead. Let's follow orders."

I nodded, "You're right Bee. Let's get this over with."

"Get what over with? I swear I will cooperate fully!"

Bulkhead laughed, "Hah, looks like the seeker can't understand you, Bee!"

Bulkhead grabbed an arm and Bee grabbed the other. Both Mechs lifted the Con.

"Hey! That's not fair! Why do Bee and I have to work, but not you?"

"If either of you got stuck, who would cut you mechs free?"

We walked down the hallway in silence. I honestly felt anger towards Starscream. We reached the end. The bright light nearly blinded me. We walked out of the downed ship and over to Optimus, Striker, and Arcee.

I heard Optimus from the distance, "Revenge will not bring back those we have lost."

 _Aww... He actually listened to what I had to say._

Bulkhead and Bee dropped the commander's arms.

Bulkhead yelled, "Move it!"

"No need to use force," Starscream replied.

Bulkhead punched Starscream from behind, making the Decepticon fall to the ground. Lucky for him, he landed on his knees.

Starscream looked up to Optimus and conceded, "I'll tell you anything you want to know."

Bulkhead laughed, "Is that right? And what would you want in return?"

Optimus walked closer to Starscream.

"I want to be," Starscream sincerely confessed, "on your side."

 _Vector sigma! He's telling the truth. I'm still angry though. But he looks sad and hurt. I'm still pissed. There's no way I'm working with slag like him. I should scrap him right here, right now._

"On our side?" Bulkhead laughed as Starscream smiled at the possibility. "Hahaha, yeah right," he pointed to himself," and I've been lobbing with the fallen."

Arcee said, "You wouldn't betray the Decepticons."

Starscream dropped his look of pain and hurt. He regained his smug tricking tone, "Wouldn't I? What have they done for me lately?" He turned to Optimus, then looked away, and then back again. "Besides humiliate me, spy on me, demote me? Megatron has tried to extinguish my spark in cold blood. Then all but replace me with that traitorous wretch Airachnid! She abandoned me! Left me for scrap! So why not rat them out?"

 _Okay, Screamy... First: are you sure it was a demotion? Commander is an awful position. That's what I've been trying to tell Bulkhead anyway. Second: Megatron did all that slag to me too! Third: you said the word blood Screamy! You said the human word blood! That's not you. You hate using human terminology. The f*ck Screamy, the f*ck?_

The Autobots minus Striker and Bee turned away from the seeker. I didn't put my back to him, I merely joined my comrades, but faced the Decepticon many paces away. Bee stayed with Starscream in order to intimidate him not to flee. I think Striker was trying to threaten him. Either that or ask for a fight. Both would be threatening, right?

 _That coward would definitely flee. Ugh! But what if he's actually being honest. Well, he is. I just don't want to admit that. Not out loud of course. Sigh, but I will anyway._

Arcee confirmed, "He's telling the truth about Megatron trying to scrap him. I saw it with my own eyes."

Bulkhead questioned, "You're not saying you actually trust Starscream?"

"Trust him?" Arcee said, "Never. But this may be the one time our objectives align."

Optimus agreed, "You are right to be wary Bulkhead, but I agree with Arcee."

"So wait," I asked, "where does that leave us? Starscream is telling the truth about wanting to join... I just don't think it would be wisest to allow him to join as a comrade."

Optimus looked at me, "Do you have something in mind?"

"It would be much safer to have him start out as a captive. You know, put some cuffs on him so he couldn't do us any harm. After that, his helpfulness could be fair game."

We walked closer to the Seeker. Arcee called Ratchet to transport Optimus's trailer and some cuffs for Starscream. Luckily the Autobots had some just his size, which is almost ironic, because they could have been used on me.

Optimus stated, "Starscream, if you really want to join, you must prove your usefulness."

"Yes, anything!" Starscream begged.

Arcee chimed in, "Do you know where Airachnid's going?"

"Yes, I can lead you there!"

"Starscream," Optimus called, "You can give us directions."

A portal appeared near us. Ratchet walked out of it with Optimus's trailer and two pairs of cuffs. One was for Starscream's wings; the other was for his wrists.

"Where is it?" Arcee screamed.

"A click north from here, I swear!"

Ratchet gave Bulkhead the cuffs and Optimus the trailer. He receded back into the portal before it disappeared.

"Shadow," Optimus called.

I drew my swords. Starscream looked terrified.

"Oh please no! Please, I'll—"

I cut Starscream loose from the straight-jacket of webbing Airachnid had given him, and Bulkhead put the cuffs on him. He exhaled a sigh of relief. Optimus transformed, we hitched the trailer to him, then threw Starscream in the back, and we transformed. We drove to the apposed location. I hated every second of the journey. Minus the being with Optimus parts.

 _I mean, A, I can fly. B, if I were to fly I could have easily checked out the site by now and probably stopped Airachnid. Wait a second; do I honestly even care about Airachnid? I don't even know. And C,C? Well, because I'm driving I have to be near that fragged Seeker. Man, I am spewing a lot of hate today. I should probably try to calm myself. I mean: I am with Optimus. And? And he's acting just like Orion._ I felt like I was smiling. _So, that's good._

Bumblebee stopped, as did everyone else. We all transformed. The area we were in was covered in rock formations.

"Whataya know?" Bulkhead said.

"Could still be a trap." Arcee replied.

Optimus walked towards us, "Starscream's loyalty to Megatron has always been questionable. If he has truly split from the Decepticons, our prisoner's knowledge of their agendas could make him a valuable ally."

 _If I had simply lasted a bit longer in the Decepticons, I could have given you their plans. Ugh! Why did Snowstorm have to change it all up! I'm fragging useless._

"You don't mean permanently?" Bulkhead questioned, "As in keys to the base and everything?"

"However unlikely that scenario, every sentient being deserves an opportunity for redemption."

 _Oh frag, he's talking about me! Great, if I disagree: I make a point against myself. If I agree: I am supporting Starscream. Silence: I choose silence... Wait a second. I also said that. He really is listening to me._ I felt a warm wave wash over me. _He really is listening._

Arcee exclaimed, "Even Bot killers? Even Airachnid!"

"Without that hope, we may never achieve lasting peace."

 _Oh come on! Optimus, you know I'm all for peace. Please don't make me agree with you! But, on the other hand..._

Bulkhead went to Optimus's trailer and opened the back.

"Rise and shine Screamy," he called as he grabbed the seeker by his ankles and dragged hi to the ground.

"Hey, I call him that too!" I said.

"Where do you think I got the idea from?"

"Oh... I recede my previous comment."

As I said before: Bulkhead dragged Starscream out, and the seeker fell to the ground.

"We're here," Arcee announced. "Where's the ship?"

Starscream rose to his knees and looked around. "It's through the arch, among the stones," he said as he pointed to the canyon.

Optimus turned to us, "Bulkhead, Striker, Bumblebee, and Shadow, you're with me. Arcee, remain with our prisoner."

 _Yes! On a mission with Optimus. This will be fun._

As we started to walk away, Arcee ran to our group.

"Optimus please."

Optimus stopped and turned around.

"For Tailgate."

"Your desire to avenge Tailgate will only continue to cloud your judgment."

Optimus joined us. I heard Starscream groveling in the distance. We walked through the canyon. Bulkhead's steps were incredibly loud _._

 _Frag, I guess together, five Autobots aren't incredibly stealthy._

"Be alert," Optimus advised, "Airachnid is known to attack from below ground."

 _You know, now that I'm thinking about loud steps. Optimus isn't exactly quiet._ I stared at his tall frame. _Hmmm... Definitely not stealthy. I mean look at all of that... metal? I'm going to look away now. Now. Now. I mean now. Frag! Stop staring!_ My gaze shifted to the ground.

"Right..." Bulkhead said.

 _Did I miss something?_

We continued to walk forward. We turned a formation and saw the other half of the Harbinger. Optimus gave us the sign to keep moving. The three mechs and one femme had their laser blasters drawn. I readied my swords and dropped my mask. A blue-ish beam was aimed for me. Striker jumped in the air, took the blast, and fell to the ground. She didn't move. She was as still as a statue. I looked up to see Airachnid hopping on the broken half of a downed ship: The other half of the Harbinger. Optimus fired at her. She kept on dodging.

Bulkhead stepped up to the front of our party and exclaimed, "I got her!"

Airachnid struck him with the same beam from before. It came out of this weird stick like device... That I had definitely seen before.

Optimus, Bee, and I ran forward to cover our second immobilized comrade.

"The Immobilizer," Airachnid gloated, "True to its name."

Airachnid took the chance to fire again. This time at Bee, who dodged by jumping out of the way. Then at Optimus, who rolled behind a rock and continued to fire at the femme.

"Shadow, get back!" Optimus yelled.

 _Funny how Bee gets to fight and I don't. Well, at least he has a laser gun._

I hid behind a rock. Optimus hid behind a different rock. He lost sight of Airachnid, and Bumblebee joined him. Airachnid dug out from a hole behind them.

She quipped, "Freeze." As she proceeded to fire that magical trident- I mean the Immobilizer- at Prime. Optimus turned around and was caught by the beam. Bee fired back at her and jumped in front of Optimus. Airachnid fired the beam at Bee. I ran out of my hiding spot to Airachnid. I slashed at her many spidery legs. Energon seeped from them. She turned her attention away from Bee as she winced in pain. I slashed hard at her torso. Airachnid was knocked back a bit. I ran towards Bee, and brought him behind cover. Airachnid retreated back to the top of the Harbinger. She scouted for us, but could not find us.

"Bee," I whispered from behind our rock cover. "We have to think of a plan."

"How? She has the immobilizer? If you also forgot, she has our teammates captive, and can also drill to our position."

"But Bee, you may not see our advantage."

"What advantage!?"

"We have speed and numbers. We just need to use it to our benefit. Let's see... how do we undo her advantage of captive comrades?"

"That's it!"

"Captive comrades?"

"Yes, but also no. She doesn't fear our teammates because they are immobilized."

"Bee, you are a genius."

"Right? We just need..."

Airachnid started to walk away from the ship.

"Tell me bug," she called, "do you think Megatron will enjoy his new trophies?" She walked up to Bulkhead, "He'll probably use the Bulky one here for target practice." She knocked Bulkhead over with her fragged trident. She then hopped over to Optimus and laughed. "Ahoh, Prime is the true prize. Perhaps he'll adorn the prow of Megatron's warship. Ahuhuhuhuhu," She cooed. Bee looked out from behind our cover. Airachnid rapid fired regular lasers at a rock formation behind us.

Bee shot the tumbling rocks as to turn them to dust before they could squash him. We became cloaked in a cloud of dust. I rushed out to new cover as Bee fired at Airachnid. From atop Optimus's frozen body, Airachnid fired her immobilizer at the dust cloud.

I snuck from rock to rock in order to stealthily get close to Airachnid's position. I was hidden behind a rock close to Optimus.

Airachnid chuckled and walked from her position to an 'immobilized' Bee, "But you bug," she spat in his face, "I suspect Megatron will simply dismantle you for spare parts." Airachnid walked back to Optimus with her creepy spider legs. She stated, "As a rogue: a scavenger, I should disappear into the night with this treasure," she referred to the trident.

I signaled Bee showing that I was going to go for it. He signaled back for me to wait for his move. Bee was caught off balance and moved a bit from his statuesque position. He regained stability and got back into his position before Airachnid looked back at him.

"But using it to worm my way into Megatron's favor is too good an opportunity to pass up." She turned her head towards Optimus.

Bee moved closer. I prepared myself.

"Wouldn't you say Prime?" She sneered. "I mean with results like this, I could earn Megatron's eternal trust."

Bee snuck up to her and punched her in the face. Airachnid stumbled backward to where I intercept her. I immediately reopened her wounds from earlier. I wanted this wretched con to suffer. _I honestly hate her more than Starscream. Hmm, do I even hate Starscream, I mean—_

Airachnid cut off my thoughts with a swift swing of her weapon. I dodged and swiped at her weapon holding arm. Her arm fell limp, but her grip strengthened. I slid around her and slashed her pressure points. Airachnid tried to stomp at me with her legs, but I was too fast for them.

Bee had his laser pointed at Airachnid but didn't fire. He didn't want to hit me accidentally. He beeped at me about the weapon.

I slashed the weapon out of Airachnid's servos. The immobilizer flew into the air and Bee destroyed it with his laser fire. The device broke into many tiny pieces.

"You fool!" Airachnid screamed at Bee.

While Airachnid was distracted, I sliced into her torso again. She fired her web at me; I dodged by sprinting to some of her other legs and swiped at them. Airachnid fell. At this point she was oozing Energon. Airachnid fired a laser at Optimus. I sprinted away from Airachnid in order to deflect it with my swords.

Airachnid jumped in the air, transformed into her helicopter form and flew off. Bee fired at the fleeing con, but missed.

Bee and I rejoiced.

"Did you see that Bee? I was all like slash, swipe, and then she was all like, I gotta flee!"

"How about when I destroyed the device! I was all like pew pew, and then the device was all like boom! Or how about when Airachnid thought that I was a statue? That was pretty cool!"

"Vector sigma was that cool! Oh, before we forget, we should go check on Arcee and Starscream."

"While we walk, I can call Ratchet for a ground bridge for uhm... our teammates."

"Good. You do that."

We happily walked to the arch. But, when we arrived, Arcee was nowhere to be seen. I thought I heard something from down the hill, so Bee and I rushed to the edge.

"What? Wait! No!" Starscream cried.

Arcee stood over Starscream. She noticed us looking from atop the cliff. She let the seeker go. Both separated in opposite directions. Bee went down to check on Arcee. Both were injured. Starscream hobbled up the hill. I put down my mask again and ran over to the seeker. I drew my swords. He had seen me coming. He cringed. I stopped above him. I looked down on the former commander. It's funny how one's mind can change outlooks. Not an hour ago, I wanted this scrap dead. Frag, a few days ago I was intensely angry that Megatron hadn't finished him off in that cave system. Now, I felt pity for him. Starscream fell to his knees and quivered by my peds. He was scared, tired, hurt and about a million other things I wouldn't want to be. I could see the fear in his eyes. I did not want to hurt him past what had already been done. I put away my swords. I would not turn my back on the former Decepticon, but I knew for certain that he was doomed. Megatron would not allow a traitor such as him, or me, to persist.

"Starscream," I bellowed, "I forgive you."

The seeker raised an eyebrow. He asked confused, "W-what?"

I lent him my servo. I extended it as to offer my assistance.

"We have common enemies. I hold no further grudge against a possible ally."

"You can't be serious."

The seeker started to get up on his own. He neglected my open hand.

"I am far more forgiving than Megatron."

"Are you sure?"

"I know you won't be returning to him."

"So?"

"Is something wrong?"

"It's your mask. It has energon splatter. It's unnerving."

"Why are you so inclined to deny our help?"

"I've seen the Autobot's help. It's not something I want."

"What is it you want? There will be no second offer. For someone supposedly smart, you're acting pretty idiotically."

"Did you kill Airachnid?"

"We have common enemies."

"Why not? You could have rid her from the both of us."

"I could have rid the Autobots from you."

"You're only proving my point."

"What? That I'm weak?"

"That you show too much mercy. If you aren't careful, it'll be your downfall."

"Starscream, are you alright? You're starting to sound as if you have a soul."

"What's a soul?"

"It's a human term. It has a positive connotation."

"You haven't changed a bit."

The former commander started to walk around me. I turned as to continue facing him. I did not trust the seeker.

"Starscream, don't die out there."

"Why? Do you actually care for me, Autobot?"

"No, I am merely trying to keep my conscience clean."

"Hah. Typical Shadow."

The seeker walked away, out of my line of sight.

I walked backed to my stationary teammates. I wanted to ensure Starscream did not take any cheap shots at them. Arcee leaned upon Bumblebee. The two followed me. I wiped the energon off of my mask. I was clean. We arrived at the battlefield where our comrades stood. Bumblebee had called Ratchet for a groundbridge earlier. The medic was collecting the broken parts of the device. Bee disappeared into the ground bridge with Arcee. I took Striker, laid her down gently by the medic's station at base, and then returned to the battle-site. I could move neither Bulkhead nor Optimus, by myself. So, I waited for the scout to return from his talk with Arcee. We moved Optimus first, then Bulkhead second, through the portal into our base. Ratchet followed with all the pieces of the immobilizer. He closed the ground bridge and went to reconstructing the weapon. Bee turned to me and beeped.

"What happened to Starscream?"

"He got away."

"How?"

"Bee, does it really matter?"

"I just want to make sure that—"

"I'm still your teammate. I didn't betray anyone. I'm still an Autobot."

"If anyone asks, I saw nothing. You should create an excuse."

"Why?"

"You know exactly why. Arcee. She's why."

"You think she'll be fine?"

"Starscream's an enemy. He hurt her."

"I know."

"Then act like it."

 _Ouch. That hurt._

Bee returned to Arcee's side.

I felt low, very low. I went to my paralyzed teammates. Starscream wasn't the enemy, Airachnid was. Did I ever mention how awesome Ratchet is? Ratchet fixed the Immobilizer, tended to Arcee's injuries and unfroze Striker, Bulkhead, and Optimus. Striker first. I made sure of that. I pulled her away from the doctor and others.

"Striker," I asked, "Why did you do that?"

"Take the blue beam for you?"

"Yes."

"It's simple. Arcee has her rival. Bulkhead has his. And, mine is yours. I wasn't about to let Airachnid take that away from me. If someone's going to be fighting you, it's going to be me."

From behind us, Ratchet explained to the wrecker and Prime, "The damage looked bad, but it was a snap to repair. Allowing us to reverse its affect on you. You should regain your full range of motion before long."

"And Arcee?" Optimus asked, looking at the injured blue femme, standing near Bee.

"She's rather resilient, for a two wheeler," Ratchet said.

Optimus walked towards Arcee, "It is the external wounds that heal the quickest."

"I thought settling scores would allow me to move on, instead I chased away our hope of winning this war anytime soon."

"Wisdom cannot be granted Arcee. It must be earned. Sometimes, at a cost."

Striker knew I was listening. She nudged my shoulder. "Go, win yourself another friend."

I walked up to the motorcycle and kidded, "Well Arcee, it's not like you've done anything wrong. I mean: if you wanted to gain Decepticon plans and battle strategies, Soundwave or Snowstorm are the cons whom we should have been after."

...

 **Matrix's P.O.V.**

Megatron looked pissed. Airachnid dashed out of the room. She had miscalculated. I smiled as she passed me. Well, that's a bit of an understatement. As soon as she exited, I broke out into laughter.

Megatron roared, "What?"

I stopped cold in my tracks. I straightened my posture and drew back my insane laughter to a stupid smile. I could feel Megatron's glare.

"It's nothing sir."

"Sir? It's Lord. What is it Matrix? You remind me of an imbecile."

"Sorry, Lord Megatron. It was Airachnid."

"What was Airachnid?"

"The laughter sir –Lord- Megatron."

"Go on, I don't have all day."

"Airachnid was in a large amount of pain. I found her suffering amusing."

"A true Decepticon."

Megatron walked towards me. Each step was somehow louder than the last.

"Tell me, how could you see her pain?"

"Sword wounds, my Lord. If Death's Shadow doesn't kill or disable her target, she always causes the greatest amount of pain possible."

"And how do you know this?"

"She told me herself."

"I see... When? She never enjoyed speaking of battle. The Shadow of Death was a pacifist."

"My Lord?"

"Leave. There shall be no more talk of that traitor."

I walked out of the command center. Odd. Definitely odd. Megatron that is. He was acting odd.


	17. TMI

T.M.I.

Optimus, Bee, Arcee, and I were surveying a weird energon frequency. Ratchet had theorized that the strange energy emanated from a datacron cylinder. We walked around the dusty canyon area. Prime and Bee ripped through a wall until they hit a hollow point. Arcee crawled through the hole and exited with the datacron. Then, vehicons converged on our position. Knockout, Breakdown, and Matrix lead the fliers.

Optimus COM'd base, "Ratchet, Decepticon ambush! The cylinder is at risk! We require backup!"

Knockout yelled, "I call Prime!"

"Fine, I'll get Arcee," Breakdown said.

"Um... I choose," Matrix looked between Bee and I, "the cute one!"

Matrix ran at Bee. I was stuck on the boring vehicon duty. I was outnumbered maybe four to one? I put down my mask and drew my swords.

Arcee dropped the cylinder when Breakdown hammered it out of her hands. Optimus and Bee were both distracted by their one-on-ones as well. Vehicons rushed to the datacron. I held them off. They were better at fighting than when I had left.

Bulkhead and Striker ran out of our groundbridge.

"Hey Bulk, Striker," I jested with a nod, "it's about time," I said.

"What? Do you really think I'd let you have all the fun?" Bulkhead said as he shook his head. Striker just rolled her eyes at me and mouthed something I couldn't catch. I was fighting vehicons at the time.

Bulkhead pounced on a vehicon and proceeded to fight a one-on-one.

I was distracted by the two vehicons; the third was going for the cylinder. I quickly spun with my swords extended, and then while my surrounding attackers were caught off guard, I sprinted to the fourth. I lunged at him and propelled him into the rock face. The two vehicons from before fired their lasers at me, so I returned to them in order to even out my odds.

Optimus punched Knockout so hard that he flew across the battlefield. "Autobots, he called, "Stand your ground! The artifact must not fall into enemy hands!"

Arcee ran from Breakdown to the artifact. Knockout rammed into her, knocking her out. He proceeded to transform and drive toward the cylinder for acceleration.

Knockout transformed again with a running start and said, "Come to Papa."

Bulkhead checked Knockout sending the con flying. "Run to Mommy," he retorted.

Breakdown punched Bulkhead's skull, then grabbed him by the head and held Bulkhead in a chokehold. "Say Uncle," Breakdown joked, "Say it!"

 _What the scrap is up with these really bad family puns?_

One of my vehicons ran to Prime. I saw Miko in the distance running to the datacron. I continued to hold off my enemies.

 _Vehicons are actually fierce when they gang up on you and fight with numbers._

The two vehicons kept me on my peds. If I dodged one of their attacks, I would get hit with the other. I back flipped two lengths away. They fired at me. I sprinted toward them and slashed their cannons.

A portal opened up at the arrival coordinates.

Both vehicons looked in the direction of the portal. I sweep kicked one. The off guard con fell into the other.

A weird charging noise came from the device. It opened up and started to glow red. Bulkhead got free and started to run toward the device. Breakdown hit the bot from behind. Bulkhead fell on his stomach. A laser exited the cylinder and entered Bulkhead's skull. The laser stopped and it looked to me as if Bulkhead had fallen unconscious.

Knockout grabbed the device, "You really took one for the team, Bulkhead... My team!"

A new portal appeared. Knockout, Breakdown, and Matrix ran through it. Four vehicons got up, ran, transformed and flew in the direction of their ship.

I looked at Optimus, "I'm going to go get the datacron," I said. I quickly ran and transformed into my jet form. I followed the vehicons from a distance.

Optimus COM'd, "What you're doing is idiotic and dangerous! Return to base immediately!"

"Optimus, I can do this. You have to trust me."

"It's not that I don't trust you. It's just that..."

"It's what Optimus? I don't want this to fall into enemy hands."

"Neither do I."

"Then let me do this."

"Bulkhead is in the med bay with Ratchet. He might need your support more than we need that cylinder."

I sighed, "Optimus, I can do this, just give me a chance. I am almost to the Nemesis."

"Just keep your COM link open for further communication."

"Even when I'm on the Decepticon ship? What if it gets intercept—"

"Just keep it open, okay? Promise me that."

"Fine, I promise."

"Good luck." Optimus signed off.

Sigh, _I can't believe I lied to Optimus. I really feel bad for doing that. I'm at least another ten minutes out from the Nemesis. I guess I'll just listen to music until then._

Skyscrapers: OK GO

Skyscrapers please forgive me I didn't mean a word I said  
Skyscrapers I was just tangled up in my own head  
And somehow in all the madness I thought that I was seeing straight

It ain't always pretty but it seemed there was no other way  
And I guess all I ever loved was standing right before my eyes  
And I, oh I, I was blind

So skyscrapers please forgive me I'm standing here a penitant man  
Oh skyscrapers I'll never look down again, again  
Oh 'cause I guess all I ever loved was standing right before my eyes

Oh yeah, I guess all I've ever known was standing here all the time  
And I, yeah I, I was blind  
You were right here all the time  
You were right here all the time, I was blind

Watsky: Sloppy Seconds

Fuck you if you love a car for its paint job  
Love you if you love a car for the road trips  
Show me the miles and your arms and the pink scar  
Where the doctor had to pull out all the bone chips  
'Cause you were pressing on the gas just a bit hard  
Right in the moment where the road curved a bit sharp  
And when you woke up, somebody was unclipping your seat belt  
And pulling you from the open window of your flipped car

Cold pizza  
Tie-dye shirts  
Broken hearts  
Give'm here, give'm here  
Hand me downs  
Give me give me leftovers  
Give me give me sloppy seconds  
Give em here, give em here

I don't care where you've been  
How many miles, I still love you  
I don't care where you've been  
How many miles, I still love you

Show me someone who says they got no baggage  
I'll show you somebody whose got no story  
Nothing gory means no glory, but baby please don't bore me  
We won't know until we get there  
The who, or the what, or the when where  
My favorite sweater was a present that I got a couple presidents ago  
And I promised that I would rock it till it's thread bare  
Bet on it  
Every single person got a couple skeletons  
So pretty soon, in this room  
It'll just be me and you when we clear out all the elephants  
Me and you and the elements

We all have our pitfalls  
Beer's flat, the cabs have been called  
And everybody and their momma can hear the drama  
That's happening behind these thin walls

Cold pizza  
Tie-dye shirts (tie-dye shirts)  
Broken hearts  
Give'm here, give'm here  
Hand me downs (hand me downs)  
Leftovers (leftovers)  
Sloppy seconds  
Give'm here, give'm here

I don't care where you've been  
How many miles, I still love you  
I don't care where you've been  
How many miles, I still love you

I don't care (cold pizza)  
Where you've been (tie-dye shirts)  
How many (broken hearts) miles, I still love you  
I don't care (hand me downs)  
Where you've been (left overs)  
How many (sloppy seconds) miles, I still love you

My pattern with women isn't a flattering image  
But I don't want to run away because I said so  
I don't want to be the guy to hide all of my flaws  
And I'll be giving you the side of me that I don't let show  
Everything in fashion  
That has ever happened  
Always coming crashing down  
Better let go  
But in a couple years it will be retro  
You rock Marc Ecko  
My shirts have the gecko  
'Cause in the past man, I was hopeless  
But now's it's why my little cousins look the dopest  
(whoop whoop)  
Fuck the fashion po-po  
Have a stale doughnut, I don't need no tips  
Fuck a five second rule  
That's a plan I never understood  
It's September in my kitchen in a Christmas sweater  
Sipping cold coffee on the phone with damaged goods

And there is not a single place that I would rather be  
I'm fucked up just like you are, and you're fucked up just like me

Cold pizza (cold pizza)  
Tie-dye shirts (tie-dye shirts)  
Broken hearts  
Give'm here, Give'm here  
Hand me downs (oh hand me downs)  
Give me give me leftovers (leftovers)  
Give me give me sloppy seconds  
Give'm here give'm here

I don't care where you've been  
How many miles, I still love you  
I don't care where you've been  
How many miles, I still love you

I don't care (cold pizza)  
Where you've been (tie-dye shirts)  
How many (broken hearts) miles, I still love you  
I don't care (hand me downs)  
Where you've been (left overs)  
How many (sloppy seconds) miles, I still love you

The vehicons decreased their speed. I increased the gap between us. I did not want to get caught.

"Shadow, are you there?" Optimus called.

"Yeah, what is up?"

"We may not require the data cylinder."

"Really Prime? How so?"

"It seems that Bulkhead has absorbed the data and is expelling it."

"Are you certain Bulk's purging it from his data core?"

"What do you mean?"

"Prime, I grew up around a datacron. Actually a few, one contained philosophy, another art, another law and... You know what? The details aren't important. What is important, is that we purge the information from Bulkhead before it starts to overwrite his memories."

"How do you know this?"

 _I just told you._

"Take my word for it. Anyway, I'm almost to the ship. I'll contact you if anything happens."

"Same, I'll update you on all things coming from my end." Optimus hung up again. I was glad that he didn't ask about my repeated statement about how close I was to the ship.

The Nemesis came into view. The Vehicons prepared to enter through the hanger door. I stealthily hung back behind them. They entered the ship. Just before the hanger doors closed, I accelerated into the ship. The hanger area was empty. I crept to the hallway. I looked out from behind the corner, no one. I continued quietly through my former home.

"Shadow," Optimus called.

I jumped and checked my surroundings. No Decepticons. But, I wanted to be safe. I entered a nearby door, which lead to a supplies closet.

"Yes Optimus," I answered.

"You were right about the datacron."

"Told ya so," I kidded.

"However, I cannot allow you to be put into harms way by retrieving the data cylinder."

"What? Ah, come on! I'm already here!"

"With the artifact?"

"No, with the ship."

"It is my understanding that Megatron would not let the artifact out of his sight."

"Well, I never said getting it back would be easy."

"I am going to arrange a deal with Megatron. You should come back to base. I do not want you to confront Megatron alone."

"Come on Optimus, let me try something else. I could try to get something like the data cylinder."

"No, you are to come back to base immediately."

"Fine," I lied (again), "I'll come back to base immediately," I sarcastically told him. I hung up.

 _Let's see... Base is how far away? Half an hour maybe? I don't know. If I just get this over with quickly, Optimus won't be able to tell I didn't return immediately. Besides, I can always make some excuse like... Oh! I know. I could say that while I was on my way back to the hanger, I heard Megatron coming. Then, I could say that I hid in the closest place I could find. Which just happened to be the place, which stored the exact device I was looking for. Perfect!_

I exited the supply closet and continued to the vault, still no Decepticons. I reached the vault door. There was a pin code lock.

 _Slag! My code probably doesn't work anymore! I could try, but what if it set off an alarm? Hmm... maybe it would work for Matrix? I could most certainly manipulate her to do it. Now where would she be?_

I walked back to the main hallway.

 _Maybe she's in her room?_

I walked forward, and then took a left toward the dormitories. I heard Megatron and a group of Seekers in the main hallway.

 _Good thing I turned in here earlier. Oh! Now my excuse holds more ground!_

I walked towards Matrix's room. Once I got there I knocked.

 _Why the frag did I just knock?!_

No response. I opened the door and looked inside. She wasn't there. I went over to her desk and saw a note next to her monitor. It was a checklist. The first unchecked box said 'Go to Med Bay and Get scratches buffed!' I sighed.

 _Great, another detour!_

I walked out of Matrix's room and back to the main hallway. This time I turned right towards the Med Bay. By now, I guess you could say I was a little bit annoyed. I wasn't really thinking about my surrounding too much. Not my immediate surroundings anyway. I could only think of what to do in the case of, well, every case that could possibly go wrong. What if I couldn't get the storage device? What if Prime called my bluff? What if Megatron came back? What if Matrix wouldn't help me? What if other Decepticons were with her in the Med Bay? I couldn't stop thinking about all these questions as they popped into my mind.

...

He slid through the automatic door. All of his movements were quickly paced, hurried, almost. He locked the door behind him. This was new. St3ve wore... was it an expression of concern on his face? It definitely gave off an air of worry.

"Are you alright?" I asked him.

He was out of breath. He fanned his hands in calming motions reminiscent of rising and falling waves. He said, "I'm fine. Everything's fine. There's nothing to worry about."

"Then," I asked –trying to gain insight on the locked door- "should we leave now for the training session?"

"No!" He screamed. "No," he repeated in a shaky tone. "We... we should just stay here for a reasonable amount of time. Then, and only then, should we open this door, and walk through the more vulnerable areas of the ship."

"The hallways?"

No response.

"St3ve," I calmly said, "If there's something wrong—"

"There's nothing wrong."

"Well, if there's something that threatens the security or safety—"

"Nothing's wrong."

"You can leave me to report it."

"My duty lies in your protection—"

"From myself."

"My point remains."

"Whatever it is, if it's dangerous, you should go inform someone."

He was silent.

"Not reporting a dangerous force equates to aiding it," I said.

I looked into his optics.

"Decepticons could be hurt, especially if this 'enemy' catches them unaware."

He stared back at me. Something shone through the red lights of his eyes. He stood, silently, almost as if he were waiting for a directive.

"Use the terminal," I said.

"No transmission," he replied.

"Right..." I forgot that Snowstorm had put in place a contingency plan for almost every situation. If I were a danger to the Decepticon cause, it would've been idiotic to give me the chance to contact others for my benefit. That's why St3ve's terminal didn't call out, and why I assumed no COM links were active in the detention areas. I sighed.

"I will not risk your safety."

"I know," I said. "I won't tell Megatron."

It really shouldn't matter to him where our priorities lie. Not when our loyalties remain tied to the cause.

...

I heard noise coming from within Knockout's lab. I readied myself for a fight. I crept closer to the door and listened. The sound of a buffer turned off. Footsteps crept closer. The door opened, Matrix walked out. I was so relieved.

Matrix was surprised; she raised her arms and exclaimed, "Woah, I just got this paint job redone."

"Matrix," I said silently, "Do you want to make a deal?"

"What sort of deal?" she asked.

"One beneficial to the both of us."

"Will Soundwave find out?"

"No."

"Cool. So, what do you have to offer?"

"The name, class, and alternate form of the mech you thought was cute."

"I'm in. Wait a second... What is it that you want?"

"A door code."

"Yeah, I can do that."

"It's for the vault."

"Yeah. So, what's the cutie called?"

We talked as we walked to the vault.

"His name is Bumblebee. Bee for short."

"Aww, even his name is cute."

"He is a muscle car."

"Cool. That is pretty cool."

"And, he is a scout. So, about your age."

"Awesome!" Matrix lowered her voice, "I mean, awesome."

"Now, your part of the deal."

We arrived at the vault. Matrix put in her code.

"Here you go. It was nice speaking to you again. I just need to go before you get caught."

"I won't get caught."

"Yeah, right. Good luck on whatever it is that you're doing."

Matrix left. I entered the vault. I looked around for a storage device. I went to the gathered parts of the Doom Cannon.

"Here we go." I grabbed one of the storage drives. These were meant to store data as energy and vice versa. They were to fuel the cannon once they are stored with cybertronian sacrifices. If they could store sparks... "This should work."

I left the vault and closed the door after me. I snuck back to the hanger and exited. I flew in the sky towards base.

 _Let's see... Should I go back to base? Would Optimus question anything about my timing? This trip wasn't exactly quick. Okay, groundbridge. Wait, does that make the most amount of sense? Well, Miko uses it a lot... Miko's with Bulkhead. Okay, so I could use the groundbridge. Worst-case scenario, if I want stealth, I call Miko. But, what if Miko's where Megatron went? What if Bulkhead went after her? Bulkhead can be tracked. That data signal isn't exactly stealthy. No. I'm getting ahead of myself. But, it wouldn't hurt to check._

I called base, "Hey Ratchet, is Bulkhead there?"

"Well of course he's here. Why wouldn't he be..."

"Ratchet?"

"He's not here."

 _Is he with Miko?_

"If you give me the last ground bridge coordinates I could fly there."

"Sure, I'll send you them immediately."

"Thanks."

I changed my course towards the coordinates.

"By the way, how are negotiations going?"

"I think they have broken into battle. Why?"

"I might have, through miraculous coincidence, gained a device similar to the datacron."

"Didn't Optimus tell you to come back here immediately?"

"He also told me not to confront Megatron. When I was heading back to the hanger, I heard Megatron head down towards the same direction. I hid in the nearest room, which just happened to contain the replacement data core."

"I'm not even going to question how any of that happened. Just get to Bulkhead's position."

I mentally started cracking up.

"Got it." I turned off my COM link and sped towards Bulkhead's position.

It took me a bit of time to arrive. I flew over the Monster truck stadium. I found him in a parking lot with Miko, Striker, Knockout and Breakdown. I was way too high in the sky to be noticed. As I flew above them, two beams of red light shot upward from Bulkhead's position. I assumed that they contained the data. I transformed and used my swords as a conductive device for the beams into the storage device. It worked. I fell a far ways down before I was able to transform again and regain my stability. I saw that the rest of the Autobots had arrived at Bulkhead's location. I flew back to base, as Optimus originally requested me to. When near our base, I transformed into my car form and drove in through the main entrance. I transformed again inside, and held the storage device behind my back. I really wanted to surprise everyone. The group crowded around Ratchet's medical station. Bulkhead was lying on his back, back on the medical berth. He was unconscious. I walked up to my teammates.

"The data has been fully expelled." Ratchet explained, "But, Bulkhead remains completely unresponsive."

"Because the energy took Bulkhead's mind with it." Miko stated depressed. She looked up, "Heavenward, lost to the stars."

"I hate to ruin this pity party but..." Everyone looked to me, "First, That's not how the information expulsion process works, Miko. And, second..."

Ratchet glared at me and I shut up.

 _Fine. Have your pity party. I don't care. It's your loss._

Miko continued, "It's my fault you'll never learn the rest of the formula! And it's my fault Bulkhead's gone forever."

Optimus consoled, "Miko, your quick thinking prevented the formula from falling into Decepticon hands."

 _Haha! My hands! Technically not Decepticon, but still funny. To me at least._

Arcee added, "If anyone would've backed that play, it's Bulkhead."

"It's simply too early to know the extent of his condition," Ratchet said, "Something as simple as a familiar sight or smell, perhaps even a sound could trigger Bulkhead's awakening."

It was obvious that the Autobots didn't think I was taking this seriously. Even though, I did know more about this than any of them! I walked to the outskirts of the group and waited.

Miko played her electric guitar and Bulkhead woke up. As I knew he would.

Bulkhead groaned.

"Bulkhead?" Miko asked.

 _No, it was just the response to your Primus awful guitar playing! Of course it's Bulkhead! Grrr! How is it that I am ignored just as much as that Primus awful... Wait a second? I feel ignored. Just like at the Decepticons. Ha. Maybe it's just a 'the energon always looks clearer on the other side' type of thing._ I then thought to both Optimus and Megatron before I forced myself to stop thinking.

Bulkhead got up and started to strum an air guitar. "I love that song!" he screamed. He looked at the human, "Miko..."

"Oh Primus... Could you, Ahhh!" I kept on trying to speak. The problem was that my servos were halting my speech by covering my mouth. It didn't help that my annoyed expressions -caused by the Autobots' idiocy- rendered my face useless.

"Shadow!" Ratchet yelled, "Can you not see that we're having a touching moment over here!"

"You know what? Fine! You guys go have your 'moment' and I'm gonna go."

Arcee yelled, "Shadow! We've had a very tough day! We thought that we had lost a teammate! Miko thought she had lost her best friend! All together, we had lost the formula. And, there was no proof Bulkhead was ever going to wake up!"

"Okay guys, A, as in first out of the list—"

Miko cut in, "That would be f."

I face palmed, "No, A. As in fist letter out of a multi letter list."

Everyone glared at me.

"Anyway, first, Bulkhead was always going to wake up. If any of you had bothered listening to me I could have explained that. But, apparently none of you care to hear what I have to say. Second, you know what. You all look annoyed so I'm just gonna stop here." I showed them the data drive, passed it to Ratchet, turned towards the exit, and yelled, "That's the data you all thought was 'lost'! Call me when you **want** to hear what I have to say!"

I transformed into my car form and drove out of the base.

 _Why am I always leaving these group situations annoyed and other things? What is even my life?_ I laughed.

I drove down the road towards Jasper. I planned to go speeding on the Jasper highway. Maybe even race some cops.

Optimus established a communications link. "Shadow..."

"Yes?"

"What is this?"

"The data drive? You mean the thing I tossed Ratchet?"

"Yes, that."

"It's an advanced storage device that can store transferred energy as data and vice versa. It was created by Shockwave as a fuel source to... Wait, do you even care?"

"I care if you care."

"That's pretty cryptic, Prime."

"And the formula is stored on here?"

"If the formula was the information from the datacron, to Bulkhead, to the 'apposed stars' then yes. Yes, it is stored on there. And you know, just for the record, since I know that you all are listening. Screaming at a teammate -who is trying to help- is just as if, no, is more rewarding than a simple 'thank you'."

"We're sorry."

"For what? What is it that you guys did wrong? I mean: the Decepticons would have done the exact same thing."

 _Actually, no. The Decepticons would have actually accepted my input. Not like those Autobots. To the Decepticons, all information mattered. Also, Megatron would have understood. He would have totally understood my whole list thing. I mean: I only make those lists when I am annoyed. That guy got me, not like the Autobots and their human pets._

"Shadow, I think that anger is clouding your judgment."

"Of course it is! Uh -Prime- I am currently planning on racing cops. That is like the top of anger for me right now."

"Well..."

"You sent Bulkhead after me... Do you even, agh."

"Shadow, I followed you of my own free will."

"Bulkhead it's not very smart, because—"

"Because why? Is it because you're angry? Is it because you don't want me to ruin your law-breaking extravaganza? I know that speeding is essentially a minor crime and that it might not mean that much to you to break such laws. But to me, to me it seems like you need a friend. And, something else, you went to the Nemesis in order to help me out. And I want to repay the favor by showing you that I can be a good friend. Frag, I can be a friend much better than those you had as a con.

"Bulkhead, it's not that it's—"

"Shadow," Optimus said, "what Bulkhead is trying to say is that we Autobots are here for you. We will listen and join you on activities. We will be more like good friends or a family than the Decepticons used to be. We all realize that you have done a lot in order to help us. We also realize that we have not fully appreciated you, as we should have. But, Shadow, if you are calm and patient with us, we are sure to be a far better family than the Decepticons."

"No, I get that it's just—"

Miko got on, "Shadow, I'm also sorry."

"It's fine, it's just—"

Arcee joined in, "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have yelled at you earlier."

"Please, all fine. Just let—"

"I'm also sorry," Ratchet said. "It's just that -as a Doctor- I tend to get protective of my patients."

"All good. Let me speak now, okay? The reason I have been trying to say for the past five minutes is that Bulkhead should not be out of the base because he is still emitting low level energy that could be tracked by the Decepticons."

Bulkhead yelled, "Why didn't you tell me that earlier?"

I sighed, "I didn't say it earlier because everyone was talking. And, it **is** very rude to cut off a teammate."

"Oh," Bulkhead said, "Yeah, we're sorry for that too."

"It's fine. We could just turn around and... Yeah, no, it's too late for that."

"So, what now? Are you still up for racing cops?"

"Uhm, I think it would be smarter if we just ground bridged in. We have maybe five seconds before the seekers arrive."


	18. Stronger, Faster

Stronger, Faster

Bulkhead and I were talking in the main area.

"Now do you wanna race cops?" he asked me.

"No thanks Bulkhead, besides," I jested, "You'd probably lose anyway."

"What, no? I'm a great racer!"

"Yeah, no. If I wanted a good tag team for racing, I think I'd pick Striker."

"Why? You don't think I could beat a cop?"

"You sure as scrap couldn't beat that laser fire."

"Come on! Those were vehicons!"

"Yep… That those were."

"Talking about yesterday… did you ever teach Ratchet how to get the formula out of the storage device?"

"I explained to him that I honestly didn't know how to. I told him that Shockwave designed it, so it would probably take another scientist I.E. him to do it."

"So, you basically captured the info in a device that we can't transfer it from?"

"Well Bulkhead, we could always transfer it back to another cybertronian, but both Ratchet and Optimus were completely against that idea."

"So then," he pointed to Ratchet, "What has the doctor been up to?"

"He's been trying to complete the formula. He kind of gave up on trying to find a way to get it out of the device."

"And the device itself?"

"In storage. Prime fears that the cons could probably find a way to obtain the data from the device."

"Do you think they can?"

"Who do you think advised Prime about the dangers of the Decepticons' ability to retrieve the data? Megatron could do it with a 5% chance of failure, Knockout with a 30% chance, and Shockwave with a 0% chance."

"Good thing we have it in storage right? Hahaha… and that Shockwave's dead."

"Yeah, about that… There's no proof that the scientist is actually dead. Starscream was the last con to see him, and you know how bad Starscream is at killing his comrades."

"Yeah, good thing—"

Alarms sounded.

Arcee walked up to the screen, "More energon on the move."

"Again?" Bulkhead complained.

"Their recent activity suggests a familiar pattern." Optimus announced, "The Decepticons are desperately scouting for new deposits to mine. Autobots—"

"Optimus," Ratchet interrupted, "If one of you comes back injured this time, well, our energon reserves are nearly depleted."

"Understood." Optimus said in a grave tone. "Activate the ground bridge. Autobots, Roll out!"

Ratchet opened the ground bridge. We transformed and drove through. It was dark. A full moon hung in the sky. The ground bridge brought us to a narrow path in a valley. On both sides, rock walls stood extremely high. In front of us, Breakdown and Knockout drove through the valley. We followed. As we got closer, I noticed that Breakdown was carrying a large energon cube on his jeep form's roof.

"Optimus," I called, "Can I transform into my jet form? I think it's the best way to catch up."

"No Shadow," he ordered, "That would expend more energon. And we cannot allow our current reserves to go to waste."

The chase went on for several more minutes. I sped closer to the Decepticons. I was close enough to hear them speak.

"Knockout!" Breakdown called, "can't we just bridge out of here? This cube is putting some serious drag on me!"

"The more we give the Autobots a work out, the more fuel they burn, and we win the energon race! Besides, here comes air support."

A squadron of vehicons flew right on top of us. They fired missiles at our group, but they missed. Instead, the missiles hit the sides of the valley, dropping rocks between the cons and us. Arcee sped up to try to get on the other side of the rocks before they created a barrier. She used the current fallen rocks as a ramp, then jumped and transformed, then started to jump atop falling rock to falling rock in order to dodge the enormous pieces of earth that rained from the sky. Arcee transformed again into her vehicle form, drove off of a fallen boulder and landed on the ground on the other side. I transformed into my jet form and flew over the forming wall. Optimus, Striker, Bee, and Bulk, transformed into their bipedal forms and climbed the wall. The squadron was on Arcee and my tail.

"Arcee! Fall back!" Optimus commanded.

"Hahahaha you heard him Arcee."

"Shadow! You too! You're both outnumbered!"

"Frack! Okay Arcee, let's follow orders." I said.

"We're always outnumbered," Arcee argued, "We need that energon!"

"Ratchet," Optimus COM'd, "lock onto Arcee's coordinates and prepare an emergency ground bridge."

"I'm locked on," Ratchet confirmed, "Arcee, decelerate and prepare to return to base!"

"Save it Ratchet, I'm too close!"

"Are you crazy Arcee? Don't you see that squadron behind us? Just follow orders!"

"Don't be a fool!" Ratchet yelled.

Arcee sped up toward the Decepticons. I, of course followed her. The squadron fired missiles at us. Arcee dodged the best that she could on the ground, while I maneuvered like crazy in the air.

 _Not going to lie, this is really fun! Wheee! Barrel roll! I'm ruling it! Oh frag! Arcee was hit!_

A missile collided with Arcee's back tire. She started to flip out of control. I decreased my altitude in order to get close to her. Arcee transformed in order to stop her flipping. She skidded and fell head first at 65 mph against the stone. I went to her side and transformed back into my bipedal form.

"She's hurt." Ratchet stated.

"No scrap Ratchet. Could you please bridge us back?"

The squadron of eleven landed and transformed in a circle surrounding us. I drew my mask and swords. The vehicons started to walk towards us. I was ready to kick some aft!

A ground bridge appeared some fifty yards above us. Ratchet jumped out of it with both of his swords extended. Ratchet… dominated. He was so cool! He lunged at one vehicon, and then threw it at another. He cut off their blaster arms, dodged their laser fire, and quickly ended any con that got within a length of him. Once he was done with one side, he sprinted to the other. He dodged laser fire; and roundhouse kicked about three of them into the valley's sides.

Arcee asked me, "Ratchet?" as if she didn't know which bot was doing the fighting.

Ratchet dodged more laser fire, and then jumped three lengths, when falling; he grabbed a vehicon's head and forced him to the ground. He then jumped again and knocked another vehicon the frag out with a bullet punch.

"Our doctor can really fight! He is being so cool right now Arcee!"

Ratchet then finished off the remaining four with kicks, punches, and jumps, all while dodging laser fire. Optimus, Bee, Striker, and Bulkhead had climbed to the top of the barricade. They fired at Breakdown and Knockout. The two drove off. I was in awe of Ratchet's skill. Almost too surprised. _Oh frag_ , I realized that he was killing them. What he had wasn't skill, whatever it was; it was characterized by a lack of restraint. It would have been skillful if he left the enemy knocked out. Bumblebee picked up Arcee. The rest of the group stood by me. I lowered my mask. Ratchet was just about done.

Ratchet placed one ped atop a dead vehicon and looked really badass! A vehicon tried to sneak up behind him. Ratchet punched him in the face without even looking. Then he exclaimed, "Hoo-hah!"

 _He looks so cool! … But he also just murdered all of those Decepticons. Why didn't I stop him?_ My spark hurt, and I felt full of guilt.

Arcee started to explain what had just gone down. Raf opened another ground bridge. This time, we all went through.

Raf asked, "What happened?"

Bulkhead replied, "I only saw the gory aftermath, but I hear that doc was a one bot wrecking machine!"

Ratchet picked up Raf who screamed "Whoa!" as Ratchet bounced him in the air, and then put the boy down.

"Hey little fella," He said.

Arcee kidded, "Alright, what's your secret?"

"No secret," Ratchet reached for a container of synthetic energon, "Just a little something I like to call Synth En." Ratchet tossed Arcee the container filled with neon green liquid.

Arcee and Bee looked like kids in awe. Arcee passed the container to Bee.

Arcee asked, "From the data Bulkhead transcribed? I thought the formula was—"

"Incomplete?" Ratchet finished her sentence. He laughed, "Not anymore."

Bee beeped, "This green stuff makes you stronger than Bulk!" He passed the container to Bulkhead.

"So," Bulkhead asked, "Ratchet makes a better tough guy than I do a strong guy?" Bulkhead gave the container to Optimus.

"Ratchet," Optimus stated, "I question the wisdom of using yourself as a test subject."

"Optimus," Arcee defended, "You didn't see Ratchet out there. He was in overdrive! We should all try this stuff."

"Umm, Arcee," I said, "I'll pass. And I think we all should. The 'Synth En' heightens a lack in restraint."

"Or," Bulkhead offered, "give Ratchet more so we can take a vacation!"

 _Did no one hear me?_ I looked at Optimus. _Optimus?_

Optimus concluded, "I agree that the initial results seem promising. But I recommend that further testing be confined to machines, not Autobots." Optimus handed the synthetic energon back to Ratchet. "Outnumbered though we may be old friend," he put his hand on Ratchet's shoulder, "We need a warrior in the laboratory right now, more than we need another in the field."

Ratchet glared at the ground. I walked up to the mech.

"Hey Ratchet, you killed a lot in the field. Maybe you can show some control next time. Don't get me wrong, you were amazing out there, it's just that it's much easier to kill than disable, and we should only kill when necessary."

Ratchet looked up at me, "Fine," he said, "If it's so hard, we can go train to improve my 'skill'."

I backed up a bit. Ratchet was kind of acting like an overconfident Starscream. I turned back to my teammates, "Hey, Striker, Bulk, wanna train?"

"Sure!"

"You know it!"

 _Why didn't I ask Optimus? Him, me… Metal on metal… Stop! Seriously, stop it brain. Just stop._

The three of us walked to the training room. It was a bit smaller than the one I liked to use on the Nemesis, but it was still about the size of a soccer field or a large human gymnasium.

Ratchet asked us, "Okay then, which one of you wants to take me on first?"

"Bulk?" I asked, "Can I go first?"

"No!" Striker yelled, "We should do tag teams!"

Bulkhead held back the enthusiastic femme. "Hold on there Striker, wouldn't you want to see what we're up against, before we go in head strong?"

Striker growled.

I turned back to her, "Don't worry Striker," I kidded, "We can fight after I take down the Doc."

"And what makes you think you can beat me, little lady?"

"I've sparred with Megatron before. And just to clarify, I'm not trying to beat you, just not die."

We both got into fighting stances. I lowered my mask and drew my blades. Ratchet's eyes glowed a brighter green and he signaled for me to 'bring it on'.

I ran at him, he punched high; I ducked low and moved around him. He kicked low; I jumped over it. He punched again; I put one ped on his arm, and kicked his head with the other. I back flipped off of him and he took a step backward.

"Sorry!" I screamed, remembering I was fighting an aged physician, "I didn't mean to hurt you, I swear!"

"Barely tickled," he taunted, "You have something real to show me?"

Ratchet drew his swords and sprinted at me. He swung at my torso; I dodged quickly, as I moved backward. He tried to slash at my head; I rolled between his legs and turned to face his back. I kicked, but he turned too fast for it to hit. He punched with his sword, but I sidestepped away from it. Then, when he was off balance, I quickly sweep kicked at his feet. Ratchet fell. I retracted my swords and lowered my mask to show that I was done.

 _Ratchet is fighting extremely hostile. I cannot do this._

I offered Ratchet my hand, but he denied it. He angrily shook his head and got up on his own.

"What, are you done already?"

"I just feel really threatened Ratch. I feel that your 'Synth En' is clouding your judgment."

Ratchet scuffed, "Ah, weak." He turned to Bulkhead, "Wanna know how I defeated the cons?" He asked.

 _Through being an unrestrained glitch?_

Bulkhead nodded. Ratchet told his story, demonstrating the action with jumps, kicks, and punches, "…And then he came right at me and I… Well, come on Bulk, come at me."

Bulkhead took a step back, "I don't wanna hurt you Ratch."

Ratchet slapped Bulkhead's face. "I said come at me!" Ratchet yelled as he got into a fighting stance.

Bulkhead growled as he glared at the doctor. He got out one of his wrecking balls and ran at Ratchet. Ratchet grabbed Bulkhead, and threw him through the wall, as if the wrecker weighed nothing. "Hoo-hah" Ratchet said.

"Vector sigma!" I yelled as I ran to Bulkhead's side.

 _Yeah, I definitely pissed him off earlier._

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"What are you talking about?" Striker asked from beside me, "Bulk just got thrown through a wall!"

Arcee and Bumblebee rounded the corner. "What was that?" Arcee asked in a panic.

Bulkhead moaned, "Ahhhhhhhh."

Ratchet appeared in the hole in the wall, "You have new competition Bulk. I'm a bit stronger than I used to be. Also a bit faster," Ratchet quickly punched the air in front of Bee's face, "Fooom" and he laughed, "Hehe, think you can take me, muscle car?"

Bee waved his hands in front of his face and beeped, "I don't want to."

Ratchet walked past him and said, "Wimp." He then walked past Arcee and flirted, "ch-ch, How's it humming?"

Arcee gave him a disgusted look. She asked, "Did he just?"

Bulkhead rubbed the back of his head and said, "Stronger, faster, studly-er."

"Yeah," Striker added, "Not to mention he's acting like a big jerk!"

Ratchet was gone. We walked to the main area. Alarm sensors went off.

"Looks like the cons hit another vein," Arcee stated.

"Autobots, Roll out!" Optimus commanded.

Bulkhead stopped him, "Oh hey-hey, well, shouldn't we wait for our secret weapon?"

"This mission is unlikely to require medical expertise," Optimus said.

Ratchet retorted, "But ya never know if it may require additional firepower." He walked closer to us and said, "Bumblebee can handle groundbridge duty."

Bee complained, "But I don't wanna."

Ratchet walked up to the ground bridge and said, "Time to put some hurt on those Decepticons!"

Bee opened a portal and we ran through it. The Portal transported us to the top of a hill. We ran down it. Ratchet led the pack. I could have been up there too, because of my speed boosters, but whenever I ran down slopes, I have the fear that I might somehow fall on my face. So, I ran with the rest of the group. Ratchet slid down the side of the rock face and hopped from one spot to another. We all reached the bottom. We saw a bunch of Decepticon miners.

Bulkhead looked down at his scanner. "Uh, signal's weak. They may have hit a vein, but they won't find much of an energon pulse. Not here."

"I take some comfort in the fact that Megatron's as desperate to find the stuff as we are." Arcee said.

"Well," I added, "He's only desperate to find it, because he doesn't want us to have any of it."

"Good," Striker said, "Gives us more of a chance to find 'em and strike."

Ratchet said annoyed, "Do you always talk this much during these missions?"

Ratchet jumped off of the cliff ledge, and drove down the Cliffside. We followed.

"Autobot!" A vehicon yelled. The armed miners pulled out their blasters and fired at Ratchet. Ratchet dodged their laser fire, drove off the mountainside into a vehicon and proceeded to fight.

Ratchet exclaimed, "It's alright! I'm an emergency vehicle." Ratchet then pulled out both of his swords and started to slice apart his opponents.

 _Ratchet's murdering those miners!_

Striker, Arcee, Bulk, Optimus, and I ran down the side of the cliff. The four fired, while I put down my mask and drew my swords. My teammates knocked down the miners in a stun-like fashion. I looked back down at Ratchet's handiwork.

I felt a chill down my spine. _Ratchet's murdering those miners._

"Vector Sigma! He's fragging murdering them!" I yelled at Prime.

A miner saw Ratchet coming and tried to escape by climbing the adjacent rock wall. Ratchet followed him. I helped my friends disable the miners, and then raced after the murderer. I heard screams coming from the doctor's position. I flew up the wall, and landed near Ratchet. I transformed and ran to the sadist.

The con Ratchet worked over screamed, "Well, that's all I know, really!"

 _Ratchet blowtorched that miner's face._

"Now, was that so difficult?" Ratchet asked. He changed his blowtorch into a sword. He was going to kill the con he tortured. I tackled the piece of slag. I moved him a couple of lengths. The doctor glared at me. His extended sword started to slash down on me.

Optimus grabbed Ratchet's arm, "Ratchet!" he yelled, "What are you doing?"

I backed up, the vehicon fled, Optimus let go, and Ratchet pulled away.

"Getting results," Ratchet answered.

"And breaking protocol," Optimus boomed. "That was a Decepticon miner! Servant class! Not warrior class."

"Oh, and let me guess," Ratchet said sarcastically, "I'm just the medic."

"Autobots do not inflict harm unless all other options have been exhausted!" Optimus both frowned and glared, "It is what separates us from the Decepticons."

Ratchet laughed, "Heh, is this really the time for another lecture Optimus? You didn't just so happen to discover Megatron's current location, did you? Well I did! And do you happen to know where there is a stockpile of energon ripe for the taking? I do!"

Bulkhead tried to calm the doctor down, "Come on Ratchet, calm it down!" But, yelling did no one good.

"Calm is the last thing we need!" Ratchet screamed, "Calm is what lost us Cybertron!" Ratchet started to walk away from us. "The cons have a warship, an army, all this energon scouting, you think Megatron isn't gearing up for something big? We're squandering our resources! Chasing after his crumbs! When we really need to be hitting him hard, and hitting him now! Precisely where it hurts!"

"A direct assault on the Decepticons would only provoke retaliation," Optimus explained, "and lead to incalculable losses. I will not endanger innocent human lives."

"Yet you seem to have no problem endangering ours! Just ask Cliffjumper! Oh, I forgot, he couldn't be here today!"

"Too soon Ratch," Striker mumbled besides me.

 _Oh yeah, Cliff Jumper went in without backup. I… will probably learn nothing from that._

"That's it!" Arcee screamed.

Bulkhead grabbed her arms, so that she couldn't fight Ratchet.

Ratchet turned back to Optimus, "You know what your problem is Optimus? For such a big strong bot, you're soft! You didn't pound Megatron into scrap when you had the chance! Many chances in fact!"

 _That's not a sign of weakness. I could have killed all of you. I've had multiple chances to. Yet, you're all still here._ I muttered under my breath, "It's a sign of strength."

Optimus closed his eyes for a brief moment. He looked sad. "I am afraid that the synthetic energon has impaired your judgment, old friend."

"My judgment? You're the one who keeps a pet Decepticon around!"

 _Oh, sick burn,_ I thought… _Wait a second. Did he just call me a pet?_

Striker bawled up one of her hands into a fist.

 _Do not kill him. Do not attack him. Don't even acknowledge him. He isn't himself; it's the synthetic energon._

I nudged her and she stood down.

"She's mine."

 _A rival or a pet… neither is good._

"I am confining you to base until further notice." Optimus commanded, "Bumblebee, bridge us back."

Bulkhead let go of Arcee as she tore from his grip. I looked away from Optimus.

 _I'm not a pet._

The portal appeared behind Bulkhead.

Ratchet sighed, "Huh, Fine." Ratchet started to walk through the portal. We followed behind him, Bulkhead walked in front. Ratchet ran out of the portal yelling, grabbed Bulkhead, and threw him at Optimus. Ratchet transformed and drove away. I got a running start, transformed into my jet, and flew after him.

Optimus opened a communications link. Ratchet declined, and I accepted.

"Optimus, I can track him, I can chase him—"

"No Shadow, he's too dangerous."

 _Not a pet. Not again._

"You know what Optimus, I'm not gonna let him murder and torture my kind! I meant Decepticons. Vector Sigma you know what I meant!"

"Shadow—"

 _Never again._

"You know what Optimus? Maybe Ratchet is right. Maybe all I am is a fragging Decepticon pet. But do you know what? If I'm a Decepticon, and Decepticon's stand up for their own kind… Well then, I can't let that synthetic energon drinking scrap-heap murder innocent defenseless miners!"

"Shadow, you need to return to base. Your emotions are getting the best of you."

"Prime, I understand that I'm angry. And I understand that Ratchet is not himself right now. But, if he doesn't have a fragging babysitter he will get his slagging self killed."

"So… You plan to facilitate his attack?"

"No, I plan to stop casualties from occurring."

"On both sides?"

"I don't know. I just don't want anyone to die."

 _Frack._

"Good luck." Optimus signed off.

I took a deep breath and continued to follow Ratchet. Ratchet stopped at the entrance to a mine. He transformed and looked at me. I flew down, transformed, and followed from a distance.

"Are you coming or what?"

"You want me to come?"

"Decepticon or not, you had the guts to keep on my tracks. That takes courage."

I walked behind Ratchet and followed him through the mine. We saw Breakdown talking to a miner up ahead. I was about to ready myself for battle.

Ratchet said, "Mine."

I said, "No killing."

"I'm saving that for Megatron."

 _Megatron gave me freedom._

I didn't want to argue with the deranged mech.

Ratchet whistled to grab the Decepticons' attention.

Breakdown got out his hammer and said, "I was wondering when you might show."

Ratchet smiled and proceeded to sprint at Breakdown. The doctor dodged Breakdown's swing, allowing the miner to get hit with it and be knocked out. Ratchet destroyed Breakdown; it was one of the quickest takedowns I had ever seen. I feared for Megatron's life. Ratchet then grabbed Breakdown and had him walk ten paces, before dropping the mech at Megatron's feet.

"Hoo-ah!" The doctor exclaimed. Knockout took a step backward, behind his lord.

"Megatron run." I said to my self.

"Well, uh," Knockout pointed to Ratchet.

"That is your fearsome new adversary?" Megatron asked, "Hehehe" he laughed, "He's Optimus Prime's Medic."

"Megatron run! " I yelled.

Ratchet glared at me before he went right back to look at Megatron.

"Oh no Megatron," Ratchet stated, "I am your doctor of Doom."

Ratchet ran at Megatron, jumped, and punched Megatron's face. Sparks trailed his fist. Megatron was pushed back into a wall four lengths away. Knockdown backed up. Megatron felt his face with his claw like hands, and looked surprised. My gaze shifted down to the ground. It was almost as if I had felt his pain. A look of hurt was plastered upon my face. I could feel Megatron observing this. He looked back to Ratchet and curled his servo into a fist.

"Alright then," Megatron said.

Ratchet ran at Megatron again. This time he yelled, "For Cybertro—" Megatron grabbed Ratchet's fist and clamped down. The doctor let out screams of pain. "Ah, ah—," Megatron rotated Ratchet's fist, and arm, completely around, causing shrieks of pain to split the air, "Ahhhhhhh!"

Megatron said to Knockout, "Ratchet is rather more spirited than I recollect."

"Chemical enhancement perhaps?" Knockout questioned.

Ratchet continued screaming.

Megatron clenched his other claw into a fist, and then back to its clawed form. He swiftly stabbed it into Ratchet's chest, right of his spark chamber, and then removed it. Ratchet started to leak energon. Megatron threw the doctor to the ground.

I ran over to Ratchet and bent down next to his level.

 _I should have battled._

"Ratchet," I called out, "You know earlier when I told Megatron to run. I meant that in a 'run into the light' type fashion, you know, to save him the pain of being ripped into shreds by you." I tried to laugh, "Heh. Yeah, you won't tell Optimus right? I mean, I swear I that I did not want, uhm you know, what is happening right now."

"I understand Shadow. And about earlier, I wasn't myself. I'm sorry for trying to, well, you know, it was because of how riled up I got. And also for calling you Optimus's Decepticon pet. That was uncalled for."

Megatron glared at Ratchet. "There's your laboratory sample doctor. Find out if a chemical can do this for Optimus Prime's' lapdog," he chuckled, "Hehe, Imagine what it could do for our troops."

Megatron walked over toward us. He grasped my shoulder with his sharp claw of a servo. I drew my sword with the arm he held the shoulder of. His grip grew stronger and his claw dug into my synthetic flesh. The pain caused me to drop my sword at Ratchet's side. Megatron lifted his servo upward, forcing me to my peds.

"Come along Shadow," he said. I tried to resist, but that only made the pain worse. I gave up, and walked at his pace, like a human pet, or respected equivalent.

"I'm sorry Optimus, I've been a fool," I heard Ratchet say behind me in the ever increasing distance.

I then heard rapid laser fire off in the mine. Megatron noticed it as well.

"It is so like you not to call for backup."

I didn't respond. His grip increased.

"You know it's rude not to speak when you are being spoken to."

"I am not a pet."

"Hmm?" Megatron chuckled, "That's what the lap dog said, right? You… a pet? Ha! I don't think I've ever heard of anything more absurd. Other than your comparison of my job to that of a pet sitter."

"You've heard of that?"

"You think I haven't? Amusing and accurate. Soundwave is the apt parrot you take him to be."

 _Which telling of that, did Soundwave record?_

"Starscream is out of your equation now," I said.

 _Why am I talking to him?_

"Yes… So, what exactly was it the doctor was referring to? The you-know thing?"

"That? Attempted murder, nothing more."

 _Why did I just give him the correct answer?_

"How many times?"

"Three within the last hour."

 _Seriously, I don't have to give him the truth… lies wouldn't even suffice. I shouldn't be speaking to him at all… But, why do I feel comfortable enough to involuntarily do so? Why? It's almost as if I'm being compelled._

"And, Optimus? Why was he calling you the Prime's pet?"

"Optimus has kept a tight watch on me. If I am somewhere, he watches, if I am alone, he comes over and talks, If I go, he follows, and as of late, he has had me under a tight keep because I…"

 _Megatron is my enemy. Why can't I remember that?_

"Yes?"

"Almost died protecting you."

 _Well, not exactly protecting you. I just want to see your reaction to that._

Megatron released his grip and looked at me. "You- you almost died?"

 _Ha! He didn't want to let me go. How sweet._

"One percent battery power. If our energon reserves had been a single cube lower, I would not be here right now. Scrap, Megatron," I joked, "with our current supply being so low, I could just as easily die from bleeding out of this wound."

I smiled. _I really want to see your reaction to this._

Megatron took a step back. I tried to read his face. I heard Optimus in the distance; he would see us in a moment. He was coming from Ratchet's position. I drew my other sword with the arm that wasn't in pain, and held it to Megatron's symbol. Megatron immediately saw Prime and the other Autobots, as they saw him.

"Megatron!" Prime yelled.

I looked towards Prime. Megatron knew that I was allowing him to escape. He knew it was because this was my way of thanking him for not killing Ratchet. While I was 'off guard' Megatron pushed away my sword, and took a step back.

"Decepticons," he called out, "Retreat!"

 _Why does it feel like this is rehearsed?_ _I don't know. For some reason, I only think he's letting us seize this energon, because he… Maybe he pities me and doesn't want me to die of such a small wound? Maybe… Pity is definitely possible. But then, why didn't he ask me to rejoin the Decepticons? I mean, if he knows me so well? Maybe he knows that I wouldn't rejoin. Maybe…_

Optimus ran to my position and Megatron transformed. Megatron watched as Optimus pulled me into a tight embrace.

"Don't do anything like that again," he whispered into my audio receptor as he held me against his chest.

Megatron accelerated away. It was similar to something he would do in anger.

I pulled away, "Optimus, I'm getting energon on you."

"Y-you're hurt?"

"One-on-one with Megatron. You don't think I'd come out of it scratch-less?"

 _A half-lie. I'm getting better._

Optimus handed me my other sword. I put both of them away.

"I didn't know what to think. I had feared for the worst when you didn't call for backup."

"I'm sorry Optimus, I kind of just forgot."

"It's fine, as long as you aren't… we should get you back to base. Bumblebee, Striker, Arcee, and Bulkhead can do the heavy lifting."

We walked to the portal.

"How's Ratchet?"

"He's stable. He's currently resting at his medical station."

"That's good."

"We should tend to your wound."

"I can wait for Ratchet…" I wanted something to fill the silence. I cheerfully said, "Isn't it great that our supplies are restocked?"

We walked through the portal. I went to Ratchet's side and waited. The doctor slept. Prime stood next to me.

"Optimus, I can tell you anything, right?"

"You know you can."

"Well, there is something I should have told you earlier."

"What is it?"

"I knew you from before the war, you were a historical archivist named Orion Pax. I used to call you OP as a nickname."

"You knew me? I'm sorry but I don't remember you."

"That's okay, I have a different paint job now. It does make me look very different. Besides, it was a very long time away from now."

"Can I have a hint?"

"A hint as to what?"

"Who you were."

"Hmm… Let's see. I studied in the Library -Iacon Hall of Records- most days out of the week."

"That's not much of a hint."

"It'll come to you eventually. Would it help if I told you that we had regular chats about morality and theories offered up by different great Cybertronian thinkers?"

"That sounds like something familiar."

"Is it okay if I call you OP?"

"I don't have any problem with it."

"Well OP, I was with you when you became a Prime. Not the ceremony, just the naming part."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"It'll come to you eventually. Things like this always do."

"Really?"

"Yeah, truth be told, I'm awful at memorizing certain pieces of information."

"Like names and faces?"

"Exactly that."

"How did I know… that?"

"You used to help me learn mechs' names and associate them with their images."

"That seems like a long time ago."

"So, you do remember?"

"No, it just rings a bell."

"It'll come to you eventually."

"You could tell me now."

"Where would be the fun in that?"

 _It would ruin everything._

…..

He held his helmet in his hands. He sat back next to me against the wall in my cell. My spark beat faster being so close to his own. My audio receptors were missing every other word that left his lips. I was placing too much of my energy into my sight. I couldn't stop staring at him, the part that was new -no longer concealed- his face, His face was… was nice, kind-looking, calming. He spoke on. His optics were warm, inviting… Their glow shone off the side of his polished helmet. He was tapping his helmet with his digits, gripping it, toying with it, his digits looked soft.

"… and that's how I found my way here –onboard the Nemesis- not here, here, with you." St3ve shut himself up and sighed.

I nodded.

"I guess you could say my entire life was just like that: Just a series of mistake after mistake, until I finally found something good -something that stayed- something like you."

The edges of my mouth perked, and my face felt hot. I had to fill the silence. "Good thing I can't leave, then. St3ve, you're stuck with me."

I made the silence worse. He didn't seem phased by it. The metal on his chest rose and fell in perfect harmony with the calming melody that he breathed. Zen. He was the embodiment of it.

St3ve handed me his helmet, and my fingers shakily latched on to it. He stood up, and looked out, away, through the bars. I don't think he was looking at the bars, or the terminal between them, or the wall far out in the distance. He seemed too fixed with something in the distance, something not there.

I would've reached out for him, but my hands were wrapped around his helmet. His head stood level on his shoulders. I waited.

"My carrier," he started to speak again, "Disowned me before I was old enough to become a scout. Even before then, I had trouble trusting others. My carrier, she slept around with many mechs. I had a lot of half siblings, none of which looked like me. I was alone. For so many years, I was alone." St3ve laughed, "They all ganged up on me, call that irony! My own brothers, and they treated me like I was an enemy. They took what energon I was rationed; they probably even stunted my growth, but, look at me now! Just look. Drone height. I don't need to worry about looking like a target. I don't need to worry about going out and dying in battle. I'm me. Sure, I took on a new name. Sure, I wear this conformist uniform. Sure. Just, sure. But, do you know what?"

St3ve turned around to face me. His bright warm eyes shone, they practically glowed, standing out from his gun-metal gray armor and his deep black scar that ran down south-west, from above his left optic, through where a human nose would have been, and trailed down along his jawline. His optics twinkled.

"I'm me!" He said loudly, with pride strumming the chords of his voice. "I'm me. I'm St3ve. I like the color green. I like the bright oranges this world's sun sends across its skies before dusk." He kept his smile, closed his eyes, and shook his head back and forth between his left and his right. "I don't care if I don't get to fight." He stopped shaking his head, and said in a strong voice, "No, I prefer not doing it!" He opened his eyes again. "I like working at my terminal, and I like being able to fade into the crowd, and I like that I'm here, I like that I'm alive!" He held one of his servos on the metal that covered his chest, gripping the armor that protected his spark chamber. "I am alive, and- and, and as far as I know, they aren't. And- and I'm here, and I'm good, I'm good! I-I do good! I did well enough to get promoted here to watch you. Imagine that, me, here, doing this, away from battle, here."

He liked to use that word a lot. 'Here'. Almost as if he didn't believe it. 'Here'. 'Here'. 'Here'.

"And I drive. I like to drive. I like to go off roading sometimes. I like just to go. Sometimes just to see how far away I can get. See how far away I can get from all the conformity, and the rules, and our Lord's iron fist, and I'm fine to do it. And I like to do it! You hear that Ghost? I like to do it! I'm me! I'm me. I'm me… I'm different."

He took in air powerfully. He sucked it in, and panted it back out.

"I know," I said. "You're St3ve."

"St3ve," he repeated, "St3ve. St3ve. That's me. That's my designation. My name."

His breathing steadied. He walked back towards me. I offered his helmet back to him, and he took it. He held it in front of his face -staring at it- staring at his reflection in it. I guess I never really realized how much someone like him would even want to look at his reflection. I guess he never really did. None of them ever really did. I wondered if any of them ever forgot what it was they looked like. I never even considered that if it wasn't for my sire, I could've ended up just like him: Scout-class, a drone: Another individual wearing the armor of conformity. That's just what a lot of them were. Drones. They were labeled that. But, down underneath, they were different. Each one of them was different. And this one liked to call himself St3ve.

"I like, what was the word you used?"

"Music?"

"What the humans play." His smile returned. "The other day I saw this small hairy feline-creature on one of the flesh-creature's screens. It was dressed in green, the feline-creature was. It banged its paws on keys, and it produced 'music'. There was a flesh-creature—"

"Human."

"Human voice speaking over it. It was trying to sell something wonderful."

 _Wonderful… Pistachios?_

"An advertisement? They play on the radio all the time."

"Do you like the radio? Being out, I'm running into more human things all the time."

"The radio is good."

"Maybe some time," St3ve paused, "Maybe I can take you out off-roading. And we can listen to the human channels you like on the radio."

"I'd like that."

"I think I would too."


	19. One Shall Fall

One Shall Fall

Striker and I drove out of Las Vegas. Personally, I thought I looked amazing. But, I digress. Striker swears her gloss looks better. See, Megatron had recently messed up my paint job. And, since Striker made a large deal about us not spending enough time together, she convinced me that what our friend/rival-ship needed was a 'girls' day out in Vegas. I didn't argue. I needed the paintjob. I decided that instead of getting my paint redone the same old Decepticon-esque black, I would switch back to my original color scheme. We drove down the highway, my shiny silver gloss shining in the sun behind Striker's silver with glittering gold and red.

Optimus called, "Shadow?"

"Yes Optimus?"

Striker sighed, "Geez, we're not even five minutes out, and you're already back to guys. Some 'girls' day this is."

Optimus asked through the radio "Where are you?"

Striker mumbled, "Being pelted with questions right outside of Nun-ya Business, attention stealer."

"Driving back from Las Vegas," I answered him.

I heard Miko scream, "Cool!" in the background.

Striker gained interest. "What?" She asked playfully, "Miko's there? Well, how would you like to replace Shadow over there? That way I could have someone to take 'girls' day seriously."

Miko asked back, "Really?"

Jack said to the girl, "No, Miko. Striker's just playing."

"Ugh!" Miko cried, "I never get to do anything fun!"

The realization dawned on me. "Oh," I sighed and apologized, "I'm sorry OP, I completely forgot."

"It's fine," Optimus replied, "the children have only now arrived."

"Hey!" the kids simultaneously yelled, "We're not children!"

"Well then Optimus, if you could send a groundbridge my way, I could get to the not-children quicker."

Optimus chuckled. I smiled. Striker would have rolled her eyes at me if she could.

Optimus said to me, "One Groundbridge coming your way."

The green portal appeared in front of me, I slowed down and drove though. Striker had to turn around and enter the portal placed behind her. I arrived at the base first and transformed. I walked towards OP and the humans. Striker looked peeved. She just waved me off and went off to polish her blasters.

Miko's mouth hung open, "Shadow! What happened to your black paint?"

"Megatron hurt that paint job. So, I decided to go back to the basics."

"Well," Jack commented, "You look a lot more like an Autobot now."

"Yeah," Raf agreed, "Your red eyes, I mean optics, go a lot better now with your red symbol. On top of that, your silver color really does read as less evil."

"Hmm? You really think so. I thought it read more as losing the aspect of stealth. I think it's a lot more showy."

 _Striker persuaded me away from stealth. This 'showy' thing really isn't for me._

Optimus commented, "You look angelic."

I smiled, and my eyes went over to his. "Thanks Optimus," I said. His looked back into mine. I blushed. "Now, where were we?"

Miko rolled her eyes and said "You guys have to teach us how to dance 'properly'."

Bulkhead passed by, "Yeah, Miko can't get a detention from dancing incorrectly at the school's 'dance'."

Arcee added, "And Jack needs to learn how to, so that he doesn't ruin his date with Sierra. Some sort of human ritual." Arcee shook her head.

"And remind me again Arcee," I asked her, "Why you and Bulkhead couldn't have shown your humans the proper way to dance?"

"It's simple. We didn't want to, and Bee thinks the ritual isn't for muscle cars."

"Bee doesn't get it." Raf said. "I don't think he'll ever get it. But, could someone explain to me how Autobots are teaching us to dance? Did you even have dances on Cybertron?"

"Yes," I answered, "But they were a bit different. On the basis of how: Optimus and I simply downloaded the technique from your world wide web. How else did you think we learned how to do other human things like speak English?"

"I never thought of it that way." Raf responded.

"Boring," Miko complained. "Can we just get it over with already?"

"Come on Miko! The rest of my social life depends on learning how to dance."

Optimus began to explain, "The main thing you must remember is that the male leads and the female follows. If I am using my right ped, my partner should use her left."

 _Is Jack really taking notes? Man, that is kind of sad._

"As I was explaining before," Optimus reached his servos out to meet mine, "The male will put his right servo, I mean right hand, around the females waist and his left hand clasped with the females right hand out to the side. Whereas the female will put her left hand on the males shoulder."

We had gotten into this position. I felt giddy, as if sparks had energized my body by ten fold. I don't remember what Optimus said next. He probably explained more about the dance itself to the not-children. I gazed into his blue optics. I could feel my spark beat loudly. Our sparks were very close together. It filled me with excitement.

Music started to play. It was my choice of song, and I chose "Everything Will Be Alright" by the Killers. No particular reason. I just kind of chose it at random. I felt his metal on mine. We started to move our peds to the music.

…

"I believe in you and me, I'm coming to find you, if it takes me all night.  
Wrong until you make it right, and I won't forget you. At least I'll try, and run, and run tonight."

We gazed into each other's optics. The chorus played.

"Everything will be alright… alright."

The music sped up some. Optimus sped up his movement, and so did I.

"I wasn't shopping for a doll... To say the least, I thought I've seen them all. But then you took me by surprise."

Optimus separated his servo from my waist. I did the same from his shoulder. He took a step back, and I spun.

"I'm dreaming 'bout those dreamy eyes. I never knew, I never knew. So take your suitcase, 'cause I don't mind…"

Optimus received me in a warm embrace. Our servos moved back. Mine to his shoulder, and his to my waist.

"And baby doll, I meant it every time. You don't need to compromise. I'm dreaming 'bout those dreamy eyes. I never knew, I never knew… But it's alright."

Optimus had never taken his gaze off of me. I was lost in his blue optics. Looking back on it, I would say that I had been in a trance. We both were.

"Everything will be alright… Everything will be alright… Everything will be alright…"

Optimus dipped me. I felt weightless in his arms. I was captivated by the Prime.

"Everything will be alright."

The song ended. I felt electrified. We gazed into each other's optics. We heard the kids moving onto their next thing. Optimus and I stood up and removed our grips, but we did not look away.

"You're angelic," he whispered underneath his breath. I smiled. My face was blushing a shade of red, but his smile made everything seem fine.

It took Ratchet walking past and saying, "Get a room," for us to look away from each other.

"Victoria?"

My spark beat deeply and loudly. I felt its pulse in my audio receptors.

I looked back at Optimus, "You remembered."

"How could I forget you?" He pulled me into another embrace.

"It's been a long time since I've heard someone call me by my name."

"I thought you had died."

"That exact fact permitted me to live."

I loved the feeling of lying in Optimus's arms. He was warm. It felt comforting. But, I had to back away. Reality had to be returned to us somehow.

"You don't want me to tell the others?"

"No, if word got out to the Decepticons, I'd go back to the top of their death list. There's a reason why everyone else…"

"I understand. Shadow it is, until we win this war."

"Nice to hear the other one though."

"How did you hide it from Megatron?"

"I lied to him. I told him that I didn't have a name prior to the war."

"And he believed you?"

"You forget that I've been trained in the art of deception."

"That's the same way you were able to spend your time at the Iacon database."

"Exactly. My creator –erm, father- always did have a knack for knowledge. It's a good thing he decided to pass down the more useful lessons."

"Did I ever tell you how much I love your logicality?"

"You never used the word love before… when talking about my traits."

"Well I do, I love… your logicality… and morality, and integrity, and saintliness, and—"

 _That's too far._

"Optimus," I interrupted him, "I'm flattered. But, you're making me look much better than I actually am."

"Well then, I am just blind. Because all I can see is this heavenly fair figure standing in front of me."

"Optimus, you're too kind. How am I ever supposed to compare that-self you see to the morally upright, honest, ever loyal, and amazing leader of the Autobots you are?"

We both smiled. I felt blissful. I felt my face go so red it became numb at his smile.

Ratchet coughed, "Hmm-hmm." I looked away. It took Optimus several more seconds before he did the same.

"What is it old friend?" Optimus said.

"Weren't we supposed to go over the prophecy?" Ratchet asked back, a little peeved.

"You can start Optimus," I said, "I'll go get the others."

I left to go get Striker first. She was pissed at first, but she got over it and rushed out to get Bee. I went out and brought Bulk, and Arcee back to the main area. By the time I got back, I found Striker and Bee listening in on our senior leadership. Optimus was already going over the prophecy with Ratchet.

"And it was foretold in the covenant of Primus," Optimus recited, "that when the forty spheres align, a perpetual conflict will culminate upon a world forged from chaos. And the weak shall perish in the shadow of a rising darkness."

Arcee asked, "No skies raining fire?"

"Goes without saying." Ratchet answered, "It is a doom prophecy after all."

"I say it's a load of hooey," Bulkhead said.

Ratchet said, "I'd always assumed the ancients had been referring to our own planet. But, being that Cybertron has been dark for eons—"

Optimus interrupted Ratchet, "And considering what has befallen this planet since Megatron's arrival here—"

"Woah, woah, woah," Bulkhead exclaimed, "We've known about these superstitions for ages and never gave them a second thought."

Arcee asked, "Why all the ominous ramblings now?"

Optimus spoke, seriousness resonating in his tone, "Because the planetary alignment to which this prophecy refers, is nearly upon us."

Ratchet added, "And it would seem its endpoint, is earth."

Bulkhead gulped, "Uh, crazy coincidence, r-right?"

Arcee asked, "How long are we talking?"

"A few days at most," Ratchet said.

Optimus said, "However unsettling this revelation may be, I am more concerned about those who might believe that the prophecy speaks to them alone."

"You mean Megatron?"

"Precisely."

"Optimus," Ratchet asked, "what should we do?"

"Shadow, what do you think?"

Striker nudged my arm.

I answered, "Optimus, I do not know why you would be asking me. But, I would try to plan ahead on Megatron's actions."

"How so?"

"Well, he thinks power and dark energon are synonymous with one another. So, if he truly believes this prophecy relates to him, he'll act on impulse to gain more."

"Why does she get so much attention all of the sudden?" Bulkhead asked Arcee.

Striker started to mouth the words, "Because they love each other—"

I put my hand in her face to shut her up and said "No reason. I don't think it'll happen again."

The group more or less dispersed. Optimus was glued to the monitor, searching for signs of Megatron. Ratchet was probably fixing something. Bulk, Bee, Striker, and Arcee left to do their own things. The kids went on Raf's computer or something. I decided to wait by Optimus's side, incase something did happen.

I heard Ratchet laugh from behind me, "Haha." I turned to see what was going on.

"Ratchet actually laughed?" Miko asked in disbelief. The doctor was unsure of what to do next.

Jack turned to Optimus and I, "Optimus, Shadow, you guys wanna see something funny?"

"No," Optimus replied in a monotonous voice.

I stayed by his side, but watched my surroundings.

"I'm fine."

The group came back. Or, or maybe they never left. I wasn't sure. They weren't exactly my priority.

"Don't take it personally," Arcee said, "Prime's are built that way."

Bulkhead added, "Never seen Optimus laugh, cry, or lose his cool."

I didn't respond.

Ratchet said, "While Optimus certainly keeps his emotions in check, I have known him far longer than any of you have."

I tried to cover my tracks, "So, what was he like?"

The doctor continued, "He was different before he was made a Prime."

"Optimus wasn't always a Prime?" Raf asked.

I smiled, like an idiot.

Ratchet explained, "On Cybertron, one isn't born into greatness, rather one must earn it."

I walked over to the group.

Striker exclaimed, "Hey! Look who decided to join us." She said it as if joining them was the last thing on my mind.

 _Did she really not find me sociable? Deception… and the subject of earning things._

"Except for the high council," I added, "They didn't really have to earn much."

Optimus called out from behind me, "That's because they were already great."

I smiled and shook my head. Striker rolled her eyes in disgust.

Miko asked, "So, different how? We talkin' party animal?"

Ratchet hushed the thought, "No, no, Optimus was more like… Jack."

"What?" Jack asked. "I'm nothing like a—"

"Prime!" Agent fowler yelled on the monitor. "Those tech heists my department's been tracking. We've figured it was MECH on account of the stealth tactics. Until a moment ago when a video feed from the Pernington Febbs Particle Collider captured this." A picture of Soundwave appeared on screen.

"Soundwave," Jack said.

Miko joked, "Raf can swap that out for you with a funny cat."

Fowler ignored her and continued, "That con without a face made off with a cutting edge phase conductor. Here's a punch list of everything else confirmed stolen to date." Agent Fowler hung up and the list of the items showed on screen.

Ratchet looked over the list, "Plasma injector, Neutron shield, Teseract… There is only one thing missing if they are intending to build another space bridge."

"Hey Bee," Raf called, "Wanna go racing?"

"Scrap yes!" Bee beeped in response. The two males left. Everyone went back to what they were doing. All until Agent Fowler called back, this time from a helicopter with a very annoyed tone.

Fowler called, "The cons really stepped at it this time. They hit a US military lab. I've ordered the boys in green to fend them off 'till your team shows."

Optimus said, "Agent Fowler, I fear that Megatron's desperation may be at its zenith. And you know that I cannot condone even a single human casualty."

Fowler hung up.

Ratchet opened a ground bridge.

Optimus commanded, "Bulkhead, Striker, Arcee, you three come with me."

I complained, "Come on Optimus! Why do I have to stay back?"

"Shadow," Optimus said, "You should go and find Bee. We may require additional firepower."

I shrugged. The lug-nut had at least half of a point.

Striker shook her head back and forth as if she was disappointed in me. She took a step away from the ground bridge and said, "I'm the fastest speed car we've got here. I'll go get Bee."

Optimus opened his mouth to say something, but if he was, Striker interrupted him.

"This is obviously the smart decision. Anything else would be dumb in comparison." As she walked past me, she whispered, "You owe me one," and then she transformed back into her silver race car form with the red ricing stripe and glittering gold finish. She was gone before anyone could object.

"Autobots," Optimus called, "transform and roll out!"

We drove through the ground bridge and ended up in a mostly destroyed military base. Vehicles were on fire, and humans were fleeing. We arrived right in the middle of the action. _In media res._ We transformed and ran at the enemy Vehicons. OP, Arcee, and Bulk fired on them. The vehicons fired back. A squadron of fighters swooped in from above. I was prepared to take cover. Instead, Optimus stepped in front of me, protecting me from the flying cons' fire. The vehicons landed and Team Prime shot back. I felt useless from a distance.

I ran forward at the group of vehicons and I slashed at their blasters. It was the least I could do to help Team Prime. With their blasters offline, my comrades came to join me on the offensive. I fought to disable my enemies. The others were fighting valiantly to win. The entire scene seemed to go by like a blur. It wasn't before long that the vehicons were taken out. But then, Megatron arrived.

"Optimus," he called.

"Megatron," our leader responded, "Do you not see the folly in trying to force a prophecy to see fruition?"

"Why leave matters to fate? If one can forge one's own destiny?"

 _Is he still annoyed that Optimus got chosen for Prime instead of him?_

Megatron gasped, "Ah, speaking of fate…"

We heard loud, sad footsteps behind us. I turned around, and saw our two late comrades. Bee walked to us carrying Raf in his arms. Striker gripped her arm with her hand. Both bots looked hurt, but it was neither of them that stole our attention. Compared to them, it was the human who did not look well.

"Raf!" Arcee called. She took Raf from Bumblebee, "He's breathing, barely."

"Ahah!" Megatron exclaimed, "It would seem I have swatted at Bees and squashed a bug!"

Life sparked back into their defeated looking optics. Striker drew and pointed her blaster. Her arm shook, and fell back down to her side. She muttered something under her breath to Bee, and glared daggers at Megatron.

Bee roared with anger—beeped with anger. He raised both of his blasters, something Striker couldn't.

"Bee, No!" Bulkhead stopped his friend.

Megatron laughed.

Optimus COM'd base, "Ratchet, bridge us back now!" A ground bridge appeared behind us. "Arcee, attend to Rafael, Striker, and Bumblebee."

None of our comrades argued. They just looked defeated and sad. It tore at my spark, knowing just how far Megatron went to make us look fallen.

They left through the portal. The Nemesis flew overhead.

Megatron looked up at it, while he was distracted, we ran behind cover. Megatron looked back at where we were, assumed we had gone back to base, and went onto the Nemesis's elevator. As soon as he was out of sight, we ran to one of the Nemesis's appendages, climbed on, and continued toward a wing. We kept climbing upward, up a 60 degree angled wing. It was pretty steep, and the wind speeds around us did not help. I looked down; at least I could fly if I fell.

We reached the bulk of the ship. Bulkhead got out one of his wrecking balls and made us an entrance into a vent. He went through first. Optimus motioned for me to go in next. He trailed behind me. We had entered through a narrow vent; Bulkhead used his swing again, in order to break the metal beneath us. Bulkhead jumped into a dimly lit room, he knocked out a Vehicon whom he had landed next to. I went next and sliced the gun of the con I landed next to. I then finished him with a swift blow to the spark chamber. The third vehicon charged his laser at Bulk and I. Optimus landed on that one, slicing through his torso and killing him on impact. The last vehicon fired at Optimus. Prime fired back, knocking the con into an electrical circuit, and killing him.

 _Frag. He's getting really violent. Especially with me here. Wait a second… I am too, aren't I? Have I not been?_

Optimus walked to the edge of the platform and confirmed the vehicon's death. He COM'd to base, "Ratchet, how's Rafael?" I assume Ratchet delivered some bad news because Optimus replied, "He's in good hands," then after another silence, "Pull yourself together old friend, Rafael needs you." Another silence. No mention of my teammates. "Lock onto my coordinates and activate the ground bridge." Optimus commanded.

Bulkhead carried the most recently stolen Decepticon item on his back, "Ready," he said.

"Bulkhead, Shadow, return to base, there is something I must do."

"You're serious?" Bulkhead asked.

"I have been foolish not to see what history has proven over and over again. That Autobots and Decepticons will never mend their ways. If there can be no diplomatic solution to this perpetual conflict, then I must not allow any more darkness to fall, upon this, or any planet. Megatron must be destroyed."

"Optimus," I said, "As the humans say, it is foolish to go alone."

"I cannot endanger your -either of your- lives."

"Come on Shadow, it's impossible to talk him out of it."

 _But I don't want Megatron to die._

"Optimus, if you don't want me to fight, then fine, but the least I can do is show you where to find him."

"No Shadow, the best thing for you –both of you- to do, is to go back to base, where you are out of harms way. Bulkhead, make sure Shadow goes back with you."

A ground bridge appeared.

"Come on Shadow, you heard what he said, let's get a move on."

Bulkhead and I walked through the portal and returned to base. The rest of our teammates didn't really notice us come in. Bulkhead dropped the large device in the center of base. We both walked over to the medical area. Everyone and I mean everyone was there. Raf was on a small, human sized-table: a gurney. Miko, Jack, and Ms. Darby were with him. Ratchet, and Arcee gave Ms. Darby room to work. Striker was on the outskirts, standing and leaning against a wall. Bulkhead joined Arcee, and I joined Ratchet.

Ms. Darby yelled, "Jack, help me get Raf to the car, he's going to the emergency room!"

Ratchet stopped her, "Nurse Darby, your doctors won't be able to comprehend what's afflicting him. Not without a decade of study."

"I don't have time to argue!"

"The effects of an energon blast on an Autobot can be devastating enough." He gestured to Striker, who rolled her ryes in response. He shifted back to Raf, "But, this is a human… I'm not getting any readings."

"On dark energon?" I asked.

"How could I not have seen this? Rafael has been infected with dark energon."

Everyone looked dramatically at Ratchet, everyone except for me. I guess Striker too, but she just seemed more peeved than anything else. The lack of attention I guessed. She take much interest in Ratchet's medical diagnosis.

 _No duh Ratchet. Wait a second… Did you actually believe Megatron shot a non- dark energon blast? You do know that he, you know what, I'll let it slide. Panicked bots forget things all the time._

"If dark energon is devouring Raf from the inside out, we must expel it and fast. The only possible way I know." Ratchet grabbed an empty container for energon. "I need energon!" He exclaimed.

"Wait", Ms. Darby stopped Ratchet, "You said energon was devastating to humans."

"Under normal circumstances quite. But I am relying on the dark matter currently invading Rafael's body to meet it head on."

Rafael's vitals spiked, then flat lined, then spiked again. Ratchet filled the container with energon. He pointed to the decontamination area.

"I need him over here, now!"

Jack and Ms. Darby ran Raf into the area as Ratchet reconfigured settings for that of a human. Jack and Ms. Darby exited the glassed cylinder. Ratchet hooked up the energon to the solution hold and pulled the lever. The room went dark to reroute power for Raf. The decontamination cylinder started to glow bright blue from the energon. The bright wave burst from the room, then dimmed until it was gone. The lights came back on and the door to the unit reopened. Nurse Darby, Miko, and Jack ran inside. Bee walked behind them. I could hear that Raf was starting to wake up.

"Pulse rate is stabilizing." Ms. Darby said as she checked Raf's pulse.

"Bee," Raf called out weakly.

"You're okay," Bee beeped with relief.

Ratchet exhaled with delight. Miko hugged Raf, and Ms. Darby hugged Jack.

"Optimus," Ratchet said, "We did it."

The group calmed, or at least I thought they did. They were all absorbed with all the stuff that just happened to Raf. I made the decision not to be. I walked over to Striker. She was still smugly leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. I don't think she was really looking at anybody. She was just kind of there, looking.

"Hey," I said to her in a kind tone, "How are you doing?"

"Two," she said, and then looked up at me, "Two. That's how much you owe me."

"Thanks," I said with a small forced smile. I felt bad. It took a lot for me not to look down at my peds.

"It's really not that bad," Striker said, "Doc just says I need rest is all."

"Good," I said. I was distracted. She saw that.

She slugged me on the shoulder. I fell backward in shock. The hand she hit me with fell down at her side. It was all purple and black. It looked like the energon was a plague.

"That's for taking me out of the field," she said, "and for cutting our day short, little miss not-falling-for-Optimus."

My face heated up, and I looked down at the ground around me. She extended her good arm towards me, and I took it. She gave me the tug that initiated me, pulling myself up. It only looked like she was helping me. If anyone asks, that's what happened. On a general rule of not owing anyone anything, I don't accept help. It's just not my way of doing things.

"Thank you," I said.

"Don't mention it."

Silence.

"Hey," I said, my sight glued to the ground, "Why did you do it, the thing I shouldn't be mentioning?"

"I respect you too much to leave you just lying on the ground for anyone to step over." She shrugged, "Sometimes the ground is a dumb mission, and sometimes the anyone is our leader."

I looked up at her.

"Don't mention it really," she said again. "As I said before, it may be a dumb Autobot thing, but I give you too much respect to sit back and watch you be put on Bee duty."

I muttered underneath my breath, "Thanks, really."

Striker swayed, and then caught herself before she hit the floor.

"Looks like I should go get treated for what was ailing Raf."

"Do you want any help?"

"No, I think I'll just go get some energon and then rest. I'll see you later, okay? Make sure to kick the Decepticon's afts for me. Prime might need backup."

"How—"

"Did I know? You came back without him latching onto your arm."

"He—"

"It's a joke. Just take care of him for me, okay? Our leader will never say it, but sometimes even he needs help." Striker placed her hand on my shoulder, "He always does."

….

The alarms sounded. Autobots had once again infiltrated the Nemesis. I wasn't bothered. I didn't even mind. Not really. I was… I was more worried than anything else. We –St3ve and I- had been talking more. I felt bad. Not about our talking. I felt bad about what wasn't being said. What I wasn't saying. So, we've been here, hours today, and I've just been mulling it over, what I want to say. The problem is how I want to say it… The beginning is always the hardest part.

St3ve typed on the monitor. He was unfazed by the situation. He was unfazed by a lot. He was multitasking on the terminal overlooking Ghost's cell. He typed away, completing one report about her earlier compliancy and successful training session in one window, and communicating with his friend C4rl who was stationed at the command center. St3ve finished his report and looked over to Ghost. She had been quit for a while. He wondered just how the training had affected her. He understood that using her ability wore her down, and occasionally put her in pain, but she hadn't doted on her discomfort in a while. He ended communications with C4rl. He looked over at Ghost in her cell, area. The gate was open, but something still seemed in his vision to blur. He walked out from behind the terminal and called out to her.

"Hey," St3ve said.

No reply. Ghost stared off blankly into the distance.

"Is something on your mind?"

"Vector..."

"Hmm?" St3ve replied, confused.

"You asked my for name once."

"Vector sigma? You're still mad at me for that?"

"No," Ghost said and then repeated the word again," Vector, she said. "It's my name. Vector like the Prime: one of the thirteen."

"Vector?" St3ve asked, "Isn't that a mech's name?"

"One of the thirteen, but not the first. There was an order."

There was silence.

Steve repeated the first line of what Ghost had said, "One of the thirteen?" St3ve paused to think it over. "Weren't there twelve Primes plus Megatronus: the fallen?"

"My creator wanted to name his first born after Megatron."

"So, thirteen."

"But, our Lord didn't want that. To be copied. To be idolized in a way controlling, hypocritical to past values. Values that had won him the will of the labor class on Cybertron."

"So, what did he do? Your creator -that is- what did your creator do?"

"My creator decided to name us after the others instead. All but Megatron. Those he betrayed."

"And that's why you kept it secret? Why you didn't tell me before? You thought Vector –your designation- had an air of betrayal?"

"No." Ghost went silent again.

St3ve feared he had said something wrong. From the way she looked, from the way the air hung silent still, he feared she would never speak to him again. But, St3ve didn't want to think that. It wasn't something he wanted to believe. Things got lonely when Ghost got silent. Things would return to how they once had been, when she decided not to speak. When this was just a job.

Ghost shut her optics and tilted her head back. She sighed. St3ve exhaled in relief. His friend was still with him. He just had to be more patient. St3ve walked into to Ghost's cell, and stood in front of her. He sat down and waited. She would talk again eventually. He could wait it out.

And then a miracle happened. She talked. Her voice was soft, like the smoothest of metal finishes, and her words struck him as honest, truthful.

"I was bullied by the other DJD's sparklings," Ghost had managed to say.

St3ve stared intently at the warrior-esque scout. For once in his life, despite all the pit he had to get through, he felt like he was talking to a mirror-individual. An actual consciousness, one that understood him, one that got him, one that had been through the same slag, and had still turned out all right. Better in fact. St3ve held his radio silent. Even with all the Autobot alerts, and warnings of danger, and commands of idiotic protection, even with all the scrap the Decepticons had thrown his way, he finally felt at home. He finally found someone who got him. Not just another vehicon. This one was weak. This one was a survivor. And that's what made them both strong.

St3ve spoke, "It's almost funny how cruel Decepticons can be to their own. They bully, they're strong, they're rewarded, and we have to get back up."

"But we shouldn't have to," Vector said. "There's something nonsensical about it." Her tone raised in intensity and her voice gained passion, "They should be comrades," she cried, "They should have been comrades."

"But, sometimes things just don't make sense. Or, in that cruel way, in that way they do. I was weak, or compared to me, they were strong. They saw their advantage and they took it. I avoided fighting. I was only ever good at losing at it."

"But," her tone was still filled with emotion, it was cracking, "It was just a name…"

St3ve felt anger for a moment. He was perturbed that his friend was so thrown off. Didn't she hear his story? Didn't she know his side of things? Didn't she know the kind of emotional and physical abuse he took? The kind of trauma that resulted from that? Sure, younglings could be cruel, but insulting someone for a name was leagues different that what he had gone through… wasn't it? Why was she so affected? Why? She didn't deserve to be. She didn't suffer more than he did… Did she? St3ve sighed and tried to think back to the conversation. He didn't want to believe it. He didn't want to think that he had waited for so long, found someone, and then found out that the connection was just a fraud. He thought that they had actually had something. Another pitfall in his life, he assumed. _Just another disappointment._

St3ve sighed again. Life could be so cruel sometimes. Cruel, cruel like those he suffered at the hands of, and still did. The Decepticons were cruel. Those younglings were cruel. Then, it dawned on him. St3ve had a realization. He sat upright, breathless for a moment. Who was the most cruel of all? Who had the most terrifying stories of torture? The DJD. And if younglings could be cruel, then their younglings should have been the cruelest. But not this one. She was like him. She was a victim, just like him. He felt it again. He felt the connection. He had found her. He felt like he had actually found her. He felt like he was in the presence of another cybertronian, one that existed, one that he could feel existing, just as he was.

Ghost was still silent. She had her optics open now, staring up at the ceiling. He saw the hurt in her optics. It was just a name. It was just a fragging name. Younglings could be so cruel.

"It was a mech's name," St3ve said.

Ghost replied, in the same calm, accepting tone that could be found in the voice of St3ve. She spoke, her eyes still on the ceiling, "I was the only femme given a mech's name." She told him, "My sister was Solus. I avoided them. All of them. I looked on."

"You became a Ghost."

Her head lifted, and her sight fell on St3ve. He had struck a chord. Almost as if the two were discussing something real, something like science or philosophy, something that had more importance than a simple designation.

"I gladly took the name," Ghost said. "It was mine." Her crimson optics glimmered. "Mine to make. Mine to take. Mine to have and hold… Mine."

"And your creator was fine with that?"

Another silence. Ghost in took a large breath, and then exhaled.

"After the genocide, he wasn't fine with much. But, with my name, he was happier to say it than nothing at all: dead. Gone." She moved her hands as if they had turned into a cloud of dust. "Poof," she said, "All gone."

St3ve shook. He- he didn't know what to say, or how to say it, or if he should even say anything at all. He had heard of the raid against the DJD. Everyone had heard of it. It was one of the bloodiest battles the war had seen. It was the bloodiest battle anyone had ever seen, yet, no one had seen it coming. Least of all younglings.

St3ve's voice trembled, "You... You were in that?" He asked, almost as if he was unsure if it was even possible.

But, Ghost just shrugged it off. "I survived that," she said. "I guess it's no longer a mystery how. For the longest time I thought it was a mistake. So many of them, my brothers, my fellow young fighters, gone. Dead or captured. Tortured for information. Killed or rescued broken shells, mere husks of what they once were. Killing machines that needed 'babying', to be watched, herded, controlled."

"But, not you?"

"I was alone. I was my creator's pride. I could do no wrong. His spark mate gone. His sparklings gone. The other DJD's lineage gone. No one else for Tarn to imprint on. He was stuck with me."

More silence.

"Not a bad punishment..." St3ve said. "If not for the worry you cause me, I wouldn't mind being stuck with you for eternity."

…

"Bulkhead, you let Optimus face Megatron alone?" Arcee nagged.

"I didn't have a choice. Besides, Shadow did the same."

"It could be a trap," Ratchet yelled, "we need to get a fix on his location!" Ratchet input different data sets and searched for a minute. "I'm locked onto Optimus's signal," he said. The monitor started to beep in an alarm type fashion. "Wait… How is this possible?"

"What?" Arcee asked. "What is it?"

"We need to get Optimus out of there, now!" The doctor screamed at us.


	20. One Shall Rise

One Shall Rise

Ratchet opened a ground bridge. Bulkhead ran through.

"Bee, you work the ground bridge, Shadow you stay here." Ratchet ran out of the portal with Arcee.

 _Slag Ratchet! Agh! Why is he… He's doing this because of that thing in the energon mine. He thinks that just because I told Megatron to run, I don't want Megatron to die. By his logic, if I went to help Prime, he would suspect I would rejoin Megatron against Prime. That's awful. Well, I did do it. No! I am not a Decepticon loyalist. I should be angry, no, pissed that he would think so._

I walked over to Med Bay and filled an injectable container with energon.

 _If I can't help Optimus in the field, I might as well help him when he returns. I'm guessing he sustained some dark energon damage as Raf and Striker did._

Ratchet and Bulkhead each carried Optimus, our leader's arms draped around their shoulders as they walked through the portal. Although Optimus could walk, he seemed weak enough to rely on the two mechs for support. Arcee followed them. Bee closed the ground bridge after our team.

"Easy Optimus," Ratchet advised, "From the looks of things you've been exposed to a massive amount of dark energon."

Optimus looked around for our downed teammates, couldn't find Striker, who was resting in her room, but let his sight stop on the human, Raf, who lied on the gurney. Optimus said, "I am not the only one."

 _Ha! Even Optimus knew Raf was poisoned by dark energon instead of the regular kind. Minus one point for Ratchet._

Optimus sat down on a chair in the med bay. I administered him the energon I had prepared. Optimus looked over to Raf, who was sitting in his stretcher, parallel to Optimus.

"Hey," Raf said.

"He's lucky to be alive," Ms. Darby said in an accusing tone.

Optimus's slight smile turned into a sad frown. Miko and Jack walked down to our level.

Jack asked us, "Megatron found more of the dark stuff?"

"A volcano full," Arcee answered.

Bulkhead said, "The question is how."

"No," Ratchet replied, "The answer is what."

"No Ratchet," I said, "The answer is why. Also I'll throw out who and where, just for fun."

Striker wasn't here to laugh at my joke, and Optimus was far too exhausted to acknowledge it.

Ratchet continued, "As I was saying," he said as he rolled his optics at me, "As in, what in the world was the Blood of Unicron doing here on earth."

"So," I said as I counted my digits, "To recap, why as in the prophecy, where as on earth, and who as in Unicron."

"The cons killed a unicorn?" Miko asked.

We all looked to her in disbelief.

She continued to describe the mystical beast, "White horse with a horn on its head. Prances around all sparkly?"

"Unicron," Ratchet restated, "An ancient evil, whose focalized blood comprises the matter which we call Dark Energon… As legend would have it."

Ms. Darby cut in, "So you're saying this Unicron is some kind of Boogie Man?"

"Boogie Man?" Ratchet asked.

Miko explained, "Make believe creepy guy who hides in your closet…"

I added on, "Basically, the fictionalized representation of fear which holds power over you, even though it has no realized form."

Ratchet turned to Jack's mom, "No nurse Darby, Unicron is very real. Was. That is –while I do believe he once existed- I just don't subscribe to the theory that his primordial life force is the substance which…" Ratchet looked down to the small human on the gurney, "harmed Raf."

"I've heard enough." Ms. Darby said. "Jack please, help me get Raf into the car."

"What? Why does he have to go?" Bee beeped.

"Mom, I thought he was doing better?"

"Raf has to be examined by REAL doctors. And Raf's family needs to know what's happened. His REAL family."

"My Darby, to quote a great human," I said, '"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.' Ratchet is a real doctor; it was his quick thinking that cured Raf. And yes, we too can be a real family. The latter is because family derives not from blood, but from connection. If anything, you're separating a real family and denying Raf access to a real doctor. What ailed Raf, as in used to, was cured by this same doctor. So, if you believe that he is still injured, then you would be removing him from the care of the only sentient creatures with the knowledge that can save him."

Ratchet said to me, surprised, "Shadow, I didn't know you could speak so well."

 _Sometimes, I really hate that guy._

Optimus turned his attention to the adult female human wheeling Raf towards her car; "June," Optimus formally addressed her, "it deeply grieves me that I have failed," Optimus got up and slowly walked towards Jack's mom. "But I will do everything in my power to ensure that no harm comes to our human friends… Or any human, ever again."

June stopped wheeling Raf. She said, "Optimus, they're children. They do not belong in your world. They should be worrying about: grades, prom dates, pimples. Not their own survival!"

"Mom, dark energon is pouring out of the earth. It doesn't do that. This could be about everyone's survival, not just ours."

"You're coming with me, all three of you!" June turned to all of us and stated, "And they will not be coming back."

"I understand," Optimus said.

"That's it?" Miko asked. "After all we've been through together, See ya? What about our freedom to choose?"

"That may fly on their planet, but not here on Earth." June opened a door for the girl, "Get in."

 _Really? Freedom of choice doesn't exist here? I think she's wrong yet again._

"Do you really expect me to ride in a non-transforming vehicle?"

"Miko, I'm serious."

"You're not my mother."

Bulkhead said "Miko—"

"Neither are you!"

"Well I am yours! Let's go Jack."

Arcee walked up to her human friend, "She is your mom."

"I'm staying. I'm sorry."

Ms. Darby walked off to her car in a rage.

Optimus ordered, "Ratchet, activate the groundbridge."

"No thank you!" June yelled as she drove off.

Bee was sad. He sniffled with non-existent tears.

Agent Fowler appeared on screen, "Prime do you copy?"

"I hear you agent Fowler," Optimus walked to the monitor.

"Been watching the news? Mother nature's got a twitch in her britches."

"We know about the volcano," answered Prime.

"And the 'quakes? Seven of the major tumblers of the exact same magnitude at the exact same time as the volcanic eruption. All over the world, on different tectonic plates. In theory unrelated. If they hadn't happened—"

"At the exact same time," Ratchet ended Fowler's sentence.

Miko pointed to the TV screen, "Check it out, more good news."

"Freak storms unlike any the region has seen. Tsunamis threaten the Canadian coast. While lightning storms pummel the Gobi Desert. Meanwhile, electromagnetic anomalies plague urban power grids. These abnormal global phenomena leaving most to wonder, why now, and what next?"

Fowler said, "Don't tell me your cons have built a weather machine?!"

"One that powerful?" Ratchet said, "Highly unlikely."

Prime said, "I do not believe the appearance of dark energon at this point in time to be coincidental."

I turned to Bee. "Strange weather patterns can make travel dangerous. You should make sure the humans get home safely." Bee left. "Home of course meaning here," I said to the rest of the group.

….

She was laughing. Her smile gave his world a golden tint. But, she was laughing. Actually laughing. His body buzzed from a warm hum.

"And then, and then," St3ve stammered, each word fighting back laughter of his own, "and then—"

"And then the bot took the bait!"

"Yeah!" He wiped away a tear, "Yeah, they took it!"

Ghost erupted into another fit of infectious laughter.

After a while, the two calmed down. Smile meeting smile, eye meeting eye, red to red, the air was shocked with electricity. Sound waves rung through the air, vibrating the pair more than they were.

Something could have been wrong. The terminal's siren would not cease. But, neither Con would move. Neither would move without the other. And so they stood.

…..

Bee drove through the entrance. Raf and Ms. Darby got out.

"Uh, we're back," Raf said.

Ratchet said back, "And we are glad."

Bee transformed back and smiled at me. I smiled back. Optimus saw our exchange and glared in no real direction.

Jack ran up to his mom, "Are you alright?"

"I will be. Jack—"

"Mom—"

"I know, me too." She put her hand on his shoulder, and then hugged him. She pushed away, "But you're grounded 'till you're thirty… twenty-five."

The news went on again, "World leaders are classifying these bizarre weather patterns as a global emergency."

"Global?" June asked.

"And scientists believe the phenomena to be somehow related to the current planetary alignment."

Agent Fowler walked through the elevator door and directed his attention towards the cybertronians near the monitor, "What have you learned Prime? And you better not blow smoke up my," he noticed Jack's mom standing near him on the cat walk and stumbled over his speech, "Ms. Darby, what a nice surprise."

"Special agent Fowler," June said back to him. They both acted in a cordial manner.

Ratchet said, "We have learned this, as with the so called magma from the volcano, these earthquakes originated far below the earth's crust. From the very center of the earth's core, in fact."

"Earthquakes don't start there," Agent Fowler turned to Ms. Darby and asked, "Do they?"

Ratchet continued "Tiny tremors rising and falling in a consistent pattern. Almost like… By the Allspark. If I convert these data points to audio files—"

"What?" agent Fowler asked, "What is it?"

"Listen."

The audio file shared the distinct pattern of a spark beating that all cybertronians knew.

"A cybertronian heartbeat?" Jack asked.

"How is that possible?" June asked her son. "A heart pumps blood. There's nothing inside the earth to pump except—"

"The blood of Unicron," Raf said.

"Okay hold on," Miko said, "Something's living down there? Inside our planet?"

Optimus explained, "I fear that the earth's very core is not comprised of magma, as your science has suggested, but of dark energon."

Ratchet said, "And if we're hearing a spark… then Unicron is the rising darkness that the prophecy foretold."

"So," asked Fowler, "How do we stop this thing from rising?"

"That I am afraid was not foretold," Optimus said.

June asked, "How can something be in our earth's core, and be alive?"

Optimus explained, "Such a thing is not unprecedented." He then went into the story of our species, of our planet, of our past. "Before the beginning," Optimus said, "there was Primus, and there was Unicron: One the incarnation of creation, the other of Destruction. For eons, Primus and Unicron battled: The balance of power shifting between them more times than could be counted. Only by creating the thirteen: The original Primes who preceded me, was Primus finally able to defeat Unicron and cast him out. Primus became one with the very core of our planet. Creating life through the Well of Allsparks. While Unicron was never to be heard from again. Until now."

Fowler said, "Maybe we can find the hole this Uber-Con left while he dug himself all the way down there and fill it full of explosives."

"Agent Fowler," Optimus addressed the human, "I do not believe that earth became Unicron's home. But rather that with time and gravitational force, debris collected around the slumbering titan."

"Forming your Earth itself," Ratchet finished Optimus's thought.

Arcee put the pieces together. She excitedly exclaimed, "And he's only awakening now due to the magnetic pull due to the planetary alignment!"

"Okay," Jack said, "Well, what happens now that Unicron wakes up from his Billion year old nap?"

"Yeah," Miko said, "does he stretch and Kapow!" Miko made arm movements similar to that of an explosion. "Earth poofs to dust?"

June had a look of concern on her face. "You don't know, do you?" June asked Optimus.

"My guess is that Unicron has transcended physical form as we know it. Nonetheless we must find a way to ensure that this force of nature never fully awakens. The fate of your planet depends upon it."

"We could try diplomatic relations," I said, "It's unlikely to work, but it's better than nothing."

"And pray tell Shadow," Ratchet said, "How exactly are we supposed to communicate with a creature who has no body with which to communicate with?"

"Ratchet, first," I said, "I am not enjoying all of your negativity. Second, isn't there some point on the map where all the earthquakes converge?"

"There is!" Miko yelled.

"Yes, hmm, it seems you are not wrong."

"Then old friend, I shall go there and speak with Unicron, alone."

"I'll open a groundbridge."

The groundbridge opened.

 _I can't leave Prime alone on this. I just need a distraction…_

"So, on an unrelated note," I loudly interjected, "who would win in a fight, Synth En Ratchet, Synth En Bulkhead, or…"

"Bulkhead!" Miko exclaimed. "It will always be Bulkhead."

I crept slowly towards the portal.

"Are you serious Miko?" Arcee Asked the human, "Did you even see Ratchet in..."

I ran through the portal, transformed into my jet form, and exited in a valley type place. I flew to the top of the rock wall, transformed into my robotic form, and lay stealthily on my stomach. I could not see anything, but I could hear just fine.

I heard Optimus's peds walk from the ground bridge into the valley. He took some measurements, called the data inconclusive and asked Ratchet for a ground bridge to the next site of convergence. I waited for him to walk through, and then flew in behind him. I followed him to each and every site. I had his back in case he would need my help. And from what I had heard from Striker, he always would.

….

Without warning the door to the brig slid open, and Lord Megatron strode in. St3ve saluted his Lord from behind the terminal. Ghost shook beside him.

Megatron scowled. "At ease," he commanded.

St3ve dropped his servo to his side. Megatron walked in front of the terminal and stared down Ghost with his purple optics. The femme grabbed for the vehicon's hand beside her. He found hers and took it in his.

"Ghost," Lord Megatron said.

The femme's spark beat rapidly.

"My Lord," St3ve said, "I can explain—"

"Quiet vehicon," Lord Megatron growled, "I haven't the time for prattle."

The room fell fifty below. St3ve gulped. Ghost shook.

Megatron's glare faded. His optics color returned. "Ghost," he said, "You're coming with me." Megatron turned towards the door.

Steve interjected, "Wait, my Lord."

Megatron stopped and growled in a low tone, "What is it drone?"

"Where are you taking her?"

"To go kill Unicron."

"And when she returns?" St3ve asked, waiting for his leader to mention some method of punishment, or threat, or form of reprimanding for his earlier act.

"What about it?" Megatron responded, "That's for you to decide after I'm rid of Unicron. Come Ghost."

The femme let go of St3ve's servo. His digits trailed hers, reaching for the hand that was moving farther towards the door. Ghost caught up to her Lord, and he continued walking.

"Ghost," Megatron said, "a few guidelines." The door slid open. "First," Megatron said, "You will remain visible and always in my presence," the two walked through the doorway.

St3ve could hear Ghost say, "Of course my Lord. I will make no attempts to desert you or the Decepticon cause."

"Good," Megatron said. St3ve focused on the voice receding down the hallway, "And everything stays between you and I. Confidentiality. No exceptions."

"I will not speak a word to Tarn."

"Good."

St3ve lifted his digit from the terminal's entry control. The door –after having been held open- slid shut, ceiling St3ve in the hold, and blocking out all other noises. Alone. St3ve was once again alone.

…

I was lying stealthily on my stomach, next to the Cliffside that overlooked the canyon of the new, and final site. I could not see anything, but as before, I could hear just fine.

"Ratchet," Optimus COM'd base, "this epicenter is consistent with the findings of the others. Its terrain is rich in ore." Optimus listened as the doctor said something back to him, "Rest assured Ratchet," Optimus said, "I will proceed with vigilance."

Something was happening. I could hear the sound of earth shifting in the valley below, then I heard a dark, deep, old voice speak, "Did you know me? Follower of Primus."

Optimus said, "Unicron, the chaos bringer."

"Good," a voice said back to him. More earth started to crack and move. I thought I heard parts of a rock wall collapse, and then loud footsteps come out of the rock wall.

"Now know me as Unicron, your destroyer!" Then, more loud footsteps.

Then I heard metal clash with stone and boulders breaking.

"I humbly request your ear, lord Unicron."

"And what would a Prime be so compelled to say to me?"

"I make this appeal not for myself, but for this planet which you constitute and the beings who inhabit it. Humankind relies on you, for life, sustenance. Your resurrection will only lead to the destruction of a species, which evolved, from your very greatness."

"So this human kind of who you speak, you consider them my progeny?"

"Indeed."

"Parasites! They too shall know my ruthful hand. Once I am finished with you!"

I then heard a blast of energy, and a large metal object, Prime, land in the distance. The loud footsteps moved in the direction of Optimus.

"The line of Primes has grown weak in my absence. And thus you shall fall!"

"That outcome is inevitable, but not on this day!"

I heard laser fire, and then the fall and breaking of a megalith.

Next, I heard multiple rocks crash to the earth.

"Yes disciple of Primus, on this very day! For Unicron may be one, but we all are Unicron. Unicron is power incarnate and you, the last of the Primes, shall perish!"

…

Megatron gripped his head and screamed.

"Lord Megatron!"

The giant clenched his eyes shut and but his tongue. He wasn't going to let another shriek corrupt the dignity of his voice. An image swept his mind. He allowed the pain to consume him, and focused in on his link, he strengthened it. The visions passed.

"My Lord?" Ghost asked, "What is it?"

Megatron stood, and removed his servos from his head. "This will have to wait," he said. "There are more pressing matters to attend."

Ghost was confused. What could be more pressing than extinguishing the spark of Unicron the Destroyer?

Megatron put a digit up to his audio processor and focused on creating a link, "Soundwave," Megatron said, "Send a ground bridge to my coordinates." Megatron turned to the scout, "Ghost, " Megatron asked, "Are you proficient at tracking?"

Ghost nodded, "Yes my Lord."

"Good," Megatron said as the green swirling vortex appeared, "Don't fall far behind." Megatron started to walk through the portal and said back to the femme, "And unless you're given other orders, don't stop hunting apparitions."

…

"Negative!" I heard Prime say, "Unicron cannot be defeated by sheer force. He wants me, Ratchet. This fight must be mine alone."

I propped my head off the edge and watched. It seemed that both energon blasts and sword attacks destroyed Unicron's earth manifestations.

 _Let's see… Physical attacks such as swords destroy the rock, therefore destroying one of Unicron's vessels. But, energon is not always the best option against rock. The energon must be attacking the dark energon that Unicron is controlling the earth with. Okay, how does any of this help? Energon can be displaced at certain amounts in order to displace the dark energon, whereas sheer force destroys the vessel. I have to remember that Unicron is controlling all the vessels, so if I could simply pull some attention, I could help Optimus. So would getting the others to help._

I COM'd base, "Ratchet, I'm joining Prime in battle. I advise the others do the same." I ended the link. I did not want any of them arguing with me.

I jumped down and landed next to Prime. I was not going to let him fight this battle alone. Unicron's vessels surrounded us. I put down my mask, drew my swords, and sliced the vessels' optics. If the vessels could not see, neither could Unicron see through them. The vessels -I blinded- fell. I sprinted to the next closest and did the same. Optimus became surrounded yet again. I ran back to help him. A ground bridge opened up and our teammates fired at the vessels. They ran to us. We went into an all out destroying frenzy for the next minute and a half, until the vessels had immediately been vanquished.

"Had Ratchet not relay my command? Return to base!"

"Reinforcements will not prevent your destruction, disciple of Primus!"

"Optimus," Arcee said, "You're Unicron's target, maybe you should consider returning to base."

Optimus replied, "These manifestations of Unicron can locate me anywhere on Earth. Even our base's shielding would only cloak my position for so long. I would not put others at risk."

Bulkhead offered, "Then fall back and let us take the lead. Just this once."

"Very well."

We formed a barricade around Optimus.

"Let's move!" Arcee called.

She took lead and ran ahead. Bee was next. Then Optimus in the middle, then Bulkhead to protect his six, then me to distract the soldiers behind. Everyone fired energon but me. I just the attacked vessels that got too close. We continued to run out of the canyon and onto a plateau. The vessels increased in size over time. By the time we got to the flat surface, they were four times our size. We transformed into our vehicle forms, and I into my jet form. More or less I gave Arcee directions where to go in order to avoid the behemoths. Not much later a large one rose from the ground. This one was at least twenty times our size. My teammates transformed, I flew around the giant vessel in hopes of momentarily distracting him. At the very least I could be a fly that annoyed him, becoming such a nuisance that even he would be too tempted to turn his attention away from Optimus, so that he could more accurately swat at me.

My teammates shot at him, but the small amount of energon we could use couldn't even compare to the amount of dark energon that flowed through the megalith. On this creature, physical attacks would do not damage. What we needed, was a dark energon blow's force to destroy the rocks Unicron controlled.

"Fall!" Unicron yelled at Optimus as he knocked three large rock formations at the Prime. Optimus dodged two, but was hit by the third.

I flew down to Optimus's position. He was trapped. I tried slashing at the rock covering him. I did not have enough time to free him before Unicron could get here. But, I would not give up.

"I am this world's past and its future. And of this moment, all Primes are simply past." Unicron started to lower his ped towards us, and crush us beneath his foot.

I heard high frequency laser fire and the crumbling of rocks. Unicron fell backwards, and a wave of dust swept over the area.

I continued moving the rocks, which trapped Optimus. I was a few seconds away from freeing him. Then, I heard Megatron's voice from the wreckage of the megalith.

Megatron moved over to us. He pointed his blaster at Optimus. I pointed my swords at him, as did Arcee, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee with their blasters. Megatron turned his wrist and offered Optimus his hand. I put away my swords. Optimus took the warlord's clawed servo and Megatron lifted him up from the sifted rubble. My teammates lowered their blasters.

"It is rather ironic," Megatron said. "Considering our last encounter," Megatron paused, "If memory serves, you were desperately attempting to extinguish my spark."

Prime said back, "That option remains very much in play." Optimus walked up to Megatron, trying to show him up. Optimus's eyes only went up to Megatron's chin.

I smiled at how angry Optimus looked, considering Megatron wasn't showing even the slightest sign of hostility.

Megatron lowered his head a bit to better look into Optimus's optics. "I would expect nothing less…" I could not tell if he was trying to read the Prime, or intimidate him. "However," Megatron said as he turned away from Optimus, and walked towards me, "I have a proposal." Megatron walked a bit more then turned back to face the both of us. "Join me in defeating our shared enemy, Unicron, the chaos bringer."

Optimus had a private link with Ratchet. I deactivated my mask in order to try and focus in on listening better. I could only catch a snippet of what he said.

"Why would it be ours?" Ratchet asked.

Optimus replied, "Because Megatron's pride would never allow any other than himself to rule this planet."

"You know me all too well Optimus."

Bulkhead said, "You lead an army of cons, why come to us?"

"Because this particular endeavor requires something beyond the realm of my command…"

 _The power of the Primes._

"The power of a prime." He finished.

"No Megatron," I corrected, "It's the power of the Primes."

"The difference being?"

"The thirteen of them defeated Unicron," Shadow counted her digits, "Prima, Vector, Alpha Trion, Solus—"

Optimus interjected, "Shadow, that's enough."

Megatron said back to the Prime, "Optimus, don't you know it's rude to interrupt?" He turned back towards the femme, "You were naming the thirteen Primes with your point being?"

"The thirteen defeated Unicron. And Optimus, being a Prime (singular), has the basic essences of their power through such forms as—"

"Shadow," Optimus interrupted again, "That is enough! Any more information would be incriminating."

 _Incriminating? I get that rambling is bad, but incriminating?_

"That's odd word choice," Megatron said beneath his breath.

Bulkhead laughed, "Seems like with who we have, we don't need you."

 _We still don't really have a plan yet Bulkhead._

"On the contrary," Megatron said, "Optimus may be the only **one** who can defeat Unicron. But, I remain the only **one** who can guide you to him. Unicron's lifeblood runs through me. Only I can hear his thoughts and anticipate his movements. Optimus," Megatron turned back to the Autobot leader and said, "our past alliances: Autobot, Decepticon, No longer matter. Not while Unicron lives."

I heard Ratchet yell through the COM link, "The past always matters!"

I said in response, "We shouldn't let history get in the way of a peaceful future. Even if the peace is only temporary."

"A truce between Autobots and Decepticon." Optimus said, "How long do you believe that will last?"

Megatron responded, "Only as long as is mutually beneficial."

"And, when our proposed shared mission is complete?"

"I will conquer this earth." Megatron growled, "My way."

Arcee retorted, "Brutal honesty from a Decepticon?"

Ratchet yelled back at all of us, "Aligning with the lesser of two evils is still siding with evil!"

"Evil is all subjective Ratchet," I said back to the doctor. "With a few words in mind, I could warp your view of evil into that of good. In fact, right now, I can think of a few thousand combinations, over a million different warped views total." Ratchet didn't respond to me. Megatron smirked.

Megatron spoke to the group, "Do you think you have witnessed the full power of Unicron? Those foot soldiers were nothing more than a taste. Unicron has yet to fully awaken. With each passing moment the bringer of chaos evolves: Mutating Earth from the inside out. What we have witnessed until now is but a prelude to the utter devastation his rising will reek upon your world."

Arcee shouted, "Like your quest for power destroyed Cybertron!"

"Make no mistake," Megatron said back, "this time there will be a planet left for me to rule."

Bulkhead said, "Even if we agree, Unicron's all the way down at the center of the Earth. How are we supposed to get there? Drive?"

"There is only one way," Optimus stated.

"Absolutely not!" Ratchet argued. "Ground bridging into space, or onto moving trains is difficult enough! But plotting a blind jump, inside of a sentient being?! Besides, direct exposure to that much dark energon will debilitate you! You haven't built up an immunity like Megatron has!"

"Yet another strong argument for soliciting my guidance."

Optimus asked the warlord, "You can provide Unicron's exact coordinates?"

"If you transport us to this planet's core, I can lead you directly into Unicron's spark. The very heart of his darkness!"

"Optimus," Arcee asked, "even if we survive the jump, how are we supposed to stop Unicron?"

"With the Matrix of leadership."

Megatron told the Prime, "It was the combined power of the Primes that defeated Unicron so long ago. The very reason he now seeks to destroy, you!"

Optimus blankly stared ahead. He said, "It would follow that unleashing the power of the Matrix directly into Unicron's spark, would return him to stasis."

The group was silent.

A silver glint grew in the distance. A cloud of dust was trailing it. As the dot got closer the Autobots could identify it as a silver cybertronian all terrain vehicle with black air-brushed wisps coating its sides as detail. The cybertronian drove to Megatron's side and transformed. Shadow recognized the femme as Ghost. Ghost addressed her superior, "Lord Megatron, all manifestations of Unicron have been destroyed."

The ground rumbled and shook.

Megatron said to the femme, "Apparently not."

A vessel a hundred times our size rose from the earth.

"We've got another one!" Bulkhead yelled.

"Kill it," Megatron commanded the femme. Ghost ran past us and towards the towering figure in the distance.

"Ratchet," Optimus commanded, "send a ground bridge."

Arcee stopped us, "Wait, we're opening a direct path into our base with Megatron standing right there?!"

Bulkhead agreed, "And seriously, he's going to risk his own spark to save us?"

Megatron laughed, and in a very spirited tone exclaimed, "Hardly my nature."

We all looked up to the giant that began to loom over us. A fissure struck up its leg, cracked the rock, and exploded. Rock rained from the sky, and the giant rock creature fell to its remaining knee. Its arm came down, and started to swing at us.

"Consider my offer," Megatron said, "I shall keep it busy." Megatron transformed into his cybertronian jet form and flew at the beast, with a sonic boom to give him momentum. He shot at the arm to divert it from us. We ran through the ground bridge. It closed behind Optimus.

Ratchet lectured us; "I know that desperate times call for desperate measures, but bringing Megatron here?"

All the humans were watching from the catwalk. June yelled, "How can you even think of letting that monster near these children after what that monster did to Raf!"

I was annoyed. How could they not see the severity of the situation? I said to them, "I'm going to remind you all that the fate of your planet rests in the balance."

Ratchet yelled at me, "Optimus, don't listen to that Decepticon! Since Megatron arrived today, all she's been doing is advocating for him!"

"No, I'm not!" I argued back. "All I'm trying to ask; is if we are really willing to leave the fate of the earth up to chance. All because of harsh feelings caused by an old rivalry?"

"See Optimus? She's playing Megatron's advocate!"

"Ratchet, whether Autobot or Decepticon, we are all cybertronian. We should put away our differences if even for a day, in order to save this world."

"I agree with Shadow," Optimus said. "And returning to the topic of Megatron, he will be closely monitored, and only aloud to linger long enough to send us on our journey. Not one moment more."

Fowler asked, "What's to stop the con from calling in an airstrike if he knows where you live?"

Optimus explained, "By ground bridging Megatron here, he will be unable to get a fix on our coordinates."

"Optimus, Jack asked, "what's going to happen to you when all of your Matrix energy's released?"

"The power within the matrix has not previously been utilized in this particular manner," he said back.

"But you have an Idea don't you?" Jack asked.

All Autobots looked away from Jack: Some at the ground, some at the ceiling, all in silence.

"We replace it." I said.

Optimus turned to us, "Autobots, if human kind is to be saved, I have no choice but to proceed." He paused, and then looked at each of us in the optics. He told us, "But you do."

I said, "Sentients are sentients. Humans, cybertronians: it doesn't matter. I am willing to fight in order to defend either kind, any day."

Bulkhead said, "Well, I don't know about human kind, but I am willing to do it for Miko."

Arcee said, "For Jack."

Bee beeped, "For Raf."

Ratchet stopped the scout, "Bee," the doctor said, "you should stay here and rest more with Striker."

"No! I'm fighting for earth, for Raf! You said it was fine for me to fight the rocks earlier!"

"But, the situation was different then. Those were manifestations. This is the real deal. This is Unicron."

"No! This is my fight too."

"Are you sure?" Ratchet sounded unsure. "We still don't know the full extent of your injuries, and exposing you to more dark energon could worsen them."

"Yes I'm sure!" Bee beeped, "Striker took the bulk of it. I only got the residual, and that went to Raf. I'm fine to fight. Let me fight."

We all stood for a moment and considered what exactly it was we were getting ourselves into.

Optimus broke the silence and asked me, "How do we communicate with Megatron?"

I went over to the Con location device and input some codes. "This'll create an open channel."

"Megatron, we are sending transport." Optimus said.

"You can always be relied upon to listen to reason Optimus," Megatron replied.

 _Please don't be implying that I am the voice of reason. I really need to distance myself from you if my place among the Autobots is to be secured._

Ratchet moved the humans to an area off of the main one. Then, we all went to stand by the groundbridge entrance. All of us but Striker. I felt bad for the femme. She would want to be here if she could. But, she was resting. Optimus moved to the front. Megatron walked through the portal into our base. Ghost followed behind him hesitantly like a youngling.

She couldn't have been much younger than Bee. Just looking at her, and the position she had taken, gave my spark a tug towards the ground. She and Bee were still young, mere younglings. They shouldn't have been fighting in this war. They weren't even alive when it started. I couldn't explain why I was feeling this now, but something about the subject just stuck out with Ghost. I don't know, maybe she just embodied more of the qualities than Bee. Whatever the case, something about her was different. Something about her felt defeated. Something about her reminded her of me. And in that moment I felt like it was my fault. My spark hurt. It hurt because some part of me knew it was my fault that cybertronians like she, and Bee, were suffering in this war that they shouldn't be. I should have done better by them, by her. She timidly approached us from behind Megatron. I couldn't stop thinking that I should have done more for her. I should have done better for her.

Bee, Arcee, and Bulkhead pointed their blasters at Megatron.

He looked around and said, "So, this is where the magic happens…" He said as a compliment, "Quaint."

"That's almost exactly what I said," I blurted. I couldn't tell you why. I just did. Ratchet nudged my arm and then glared at me. I rolled my optics at the doctor, "What? He's making the effort to be courteous, do you wish me to go out of my way and be rude?"

 _I am doing the exact opposite of what I should be doing. I am an awful Autobot. Well, Autobot in the sense of anti-Decepticon. I think I uphold the Autobot ideals pretty well._

I looked at Bee, Bulk, and Arcee, and said in an even softer tone than before, "Pointing weapons is no way to treat our guests." I could tell Ratchet was going to nudge me again, this time harder. So, I stepped backward.

His elbow –after flying in front of his intended target- crashed into Bulkhead who cried, "Ow!" Bulk then got rid of his blaster and rubbed his torso with his servo. Ratchet glared at me again, and I smiled back. Apparently, so did Megatron.

Raf ran into our area. The rest of the humans followed. "You!" he yelled scared.

"Ah," Megatron turned toward Raf. Arcee ran in front of the human and stopped Megatron from advancing. "You are looking much better than the last time we met, little one." He looked back at me, "Humans… Resilient."

 _He is definitely making an effort to be nicer. I mean, he's acting courteously, giving compliments, has a pleasant mood, jokes about, uses a hospitable vocabulary… Is this really he? Or is this just an act? Definitely not dark the energon he, he used to be._

Jack put his hands on Raf's shoulders and brought him back to the hallway, "Come on Raf, he isn't worth it."

Jack's mom took Raf back to the area, allowing Jack to glare at Megatron and turn back to the other humans.

"And you," Megatron called, "I never forget a face. Even that of a human."

Jack walked away. Miko pounced forward, "You double cross anyone! Mine is the face you'll never forget! NEVER!" She screamed. Agent Fowler grabbed her, and pulled her back to the area.

Ghost laughed. I smiled at her response. She said to no one in particular, "The human made a threat. Funny." It brought me joy that she could find a light side to our current situation.

Optimus commanded, "Ratchet, obtain the destination coordinates from our guest."

 _Man, Optimus is definitely pissed off._

Megatron walked to Ratchet at our monitor system.

Ghost stood timidly where Megatron had left her. The monitor station was too crowded for her to reasonably follow Megatron. I walked up to the young femme. She looked intimidated by the large-ish small group of cybertronians. I thought to myself that in her situation, I would have been too. The femme looked tired. Her silver armor looked worn. It was dull compared to mine. Her black wisps still looked like the same black Tarn wore. It reminded me of him. I wondered if I should have stepped up back then. He was always serving our Lord, always on gory and shriek-filled missions. Sure, mine weren't much better, but they would have been more tolerable on the psyche of a kid. I wondered if she had ever accidently seen her creator at work. I hoped she hadn't. I guess… I guess I never really thought about it before, or I had pushed myself from thinking about it. Tarn was my friend, and Vector was his offspring. I should have been there more for her, for both of them.

 _I guess I never really thought about it before because of my rank. I was always on dangerous missions with Megatron; I would have never of thought that I could have provided a better life for Vector by introducing her to the slag that went down in high command. I should have done more for Tarn though. He was a friend: A real friend, on the Decepticons, no less. That's special. He's a true friend if there ever was one. I guess they never crossed my mind, him, or her, or any of the DJD. Not until moments like this. Not until moments when I'm tied this closely to them. The DJD kills traitors. It's their job. And now, I'm one of them –a traitor- standing in front of Vector, his 'daughter', his very own 'flesh and blood'. D*mn, I love human expressions._

"Ghost," I said, "Is there something I can get you? Something I can do?"

Her eyes were droopy. She kept her vision to the floor. "Energon," she said, "I'm tired. Energon refuels. It's what helps me prepare for the next battle."

I put my hand on her shoulder, "I'll go get you some energon then. Come with me, and rest a bit, okay?"

I walked to Ratchet's medical station, sat Ghost down, and injected her with a fair amount of energon. She lied back and rested some. I hoped that it would be enough. I walked back to the center of the room to give the femme some space.

While I was attending to Ghost, Megatron was giving Ratchet the coordinates. While I walked free and helped the femme, Bulkhead and Bee pointed their blasters at Megatron. Optimus left our group to join the humans in the hallway. Megatron finished giving Ratchet the coordinates. Part of me could not believe that Megatron had actually agreed to help this cause. The other part of me wanted desperately for this peace to be a lasting one.

Megatron turned to me and reached for my shoulder. I flinched. Bee and Bulk charged their blasters. Megatron opened his palm to show that he would not harm me.

"Bee, Bulkhead, it's fine."

Megatron placed his servo on my shoulder and led me a few lengths away from the rest. My comrades could still hear us. I made sure of that.

Megatron pleaded, "Shadow, please return to my side."

I did not respond. My optics showed sadness. I was happy with the Autobots, but I felt it -I felt Megatron's pain- he was suffering. I did not want to betray my teammates. But, admitting to myself that any positive and or peaceful relationship between us could never be… brought sadness to my spark. I looked down at the ground. I did not want to mislead him.

"Megatron," I said, "I won't betray my comrades."

"Listen," he said back to me, "You do not need to give me your answer but- scrap that- Do not give me an answer. Not yet. Just listen to my proposal."

All Autobot gazes were upon me: All except for Optimus's and Striker's. I looked into Megatron's optics. I wanted to be sure that he was being sincere.

"If you return," he said, "You can have any position you want. You can have all the freedom you want. This," he gestured to the Autobots, "would be immediately forgotten. You could have everything. Imagine the ability to regularly get your fill on energon, study all the texts you wanted from our database, and do whatever else your spark desired. Including developing laws for after the war. But, as is mandatory with this deal, if you decided to come _home_ , you can never leave." Megatron dropped to his knees and begged, "Please think upon this offer. Do not answer now. Snowstorm had advised me not to give you more than a week to respond. She was convinced that any answer past then would be ingenuous."

I questioned, "You involved Snowstorm?"

Megatron smiled and rose. He explicated, "I involved more than just her. Shadow, this is important to me. I need you. Many problems have arisen. Starscream has gone rogue. Airachnid is causing tension with the troops. There are many other things but—"

"It would be unwise to inform the Autobots of your personal problems. It would be adding energon to the flame that burns in their minds."

"See?" he asked, "You know me too well. You belong on the Nemesis."

"Then, why don't you want me to give my immediate answer? It's obvious you already know what it is."

"If anything, it shows both of us just how well I know you. All of this only adds onto the reasons of why you should return _home_."

I stated, "Home isn't a place—"

"Home is where the spark is," Megatron had finished my thought.

I had to do all I could not to smile at that. None of the Autobots could tell, but Megatron saw it in my eyes that I was elated. I really hated that about him: In this scenario specifically. I really have to emphasize the 'in this scenario' because all of my teammates stared at me questioningly, while I held back a smirk like a fool.

Megatron explained, "I know all of your philosophies, thoughts, and feelings towards an almost infinite array of subjects. If anything, your spark rests with me, as a Decepticon."

 _He only knew those because of the sheer amount of time we spent together. If I spent the same amount with the Autobots, they would know the same._

I looked away: focusing on the ground near my peds. I was at a loss for words. I had never seen Megatron like this. He was groveling, begging, pleading for me to return.

Optimus walked over and placed his servo on my shoulder. I looked up at him.

Optimus declared, "Shadow is an Autobot. Megatron, it is not her past, but present state that matters. She will not be joining you."

I looked down back at the ground. Optimus had voiced my thoughts, but I felt miserable.

Megatron pleaded, "Please, think on it. This offer can only last a week."

I walked away from Megatron to Ghost and Ratchet.

"Groundbridge is locked and ready," the doctor said.

I helped Ghost down from the medical table. I was sure to be careful, but she seemed strong. I guess she never needed my help. But, some part of it made me feel neglectful because of this.

We all walked up to the exit portal.

"You first," Arcee said to the lead Con.

Megatron looked over at me, then bowed to Arcee and said, "As you wish."

He turned and walked through the ground bridge. We followed.

We arrived in a dark bridged area. I could hear Unicron's spark beat.

Arcee asked, "So, how long before Unicron knows we're here?"

"Make no mistake, he already does." Megatron walked forward, and we followed. Arcee and Bee decided to take point, and ran up to the front of the group. Ghost glided to Megatron's side, whispered something near his audio receptor, heard something in response, something he said in a low murmur, and then fell back to cover the rear of the group. She looked on guard. I couldn't explain why, but I felt bad for the femme. We walked on for some time. All until Megatron stopped. He gripped his head in pain and groaned. He almost fell. He landed with an outstretched arm in order to have one of his servos support him along with one of his knees. I quickly moved to his side. His eyes opened wide and were briefly overtaken by a bright purple light. He opened his mouth in shock. "Unicron grows ever stronger," he said. His eyes faded back to a duller purple. I offered my hand to ease his rise from his nearly kneeling position. He looked at it for a moment, and then turned his head away and rose on his own. Prime stood tall on his other side. It almost looked as if Optimus was glaring at Megatron. Megatron negated Prime and continued moving forward. He walked past Arcee and led us once again.

After Megatron passed her, Arcee asked Prime, "How do we know Unicron isn't using Megatron to lead us all into a trap?"

Optimus continued to follow Megatron, "We do not." He replied. Optimus motioned for me to go to him. I complied. "You cannot trust him."

"I know."

"You jumped to assist him."

"He knows where Unicron is. Without him…" we both looked at Megatron. Optimus nodded.

We continued to walk for a long while. The dark cavern in Unicron exerted an unhinging feeling. I noticed winged spherical creatures hang from the ceiling. Ways later Megatron stopped by a more enclosed area.

"Unicron's spark is near," he said.

Arcee took a few steps forward, almost as if to say that she wanted to rush into the danger first, and then the femme came to her senses, turned around and told the Decepticon Lord, "after you."

Megatron continued to lead our group. Ghost stayed guarding our collective six. Bulkhead stopped, and then held his head with one of his servos. He groaned. Bee grabbed Bulkhead's arm and beeped to ask if the mech was okay. Bulkhead of course answered that he was fine. Even though it was obvious that the affects of dark energon were getting to him. He, Arcee, and Bee stayed back a minute or too. Ghost was unsure whether to stay back and guard them, or to join with Megatron, Optimus and I up front. She decided to mediate, and walk slowly between the two groups. I couldn't understand why she considered the final three worthy of focus. We were in Unicron. Our objective was more important than any specific member of the group. She stopped, looked back, and then continued more slowly. I ignored them. I walked by Optimus and Megatron. The longer we waited, the longer dark energon could affect us. I looked back, Arcee and Bee assisted Bulk in crossing the bridge. They did not want their teammate to fall off. It looked almost as if Ghost had disappeared for a second. Actually, I swear that she had. But, she reappeared as soon as Megatron turned his attention towards her position. We were all on guard now. Not just because of the situation, but because a weird hum-like sound began to buzz nearby.

Megatron stopped and turned to face us. "He's preparing to expel us," he said.

Winged spherical creatures started to gather in the air surrounding us, they couldn't have been any bigger than Breakdown's hammer. I drew my swords and lowered my mask. The creatures squealed with high-pitched tones. My teammates drew their blasters. Ghost just took a fighting stance, and activated her daggered claws. Odd. She chose not to use blaster, just like me.

"What are those things?" Bulkhead asked.

Optimus replied, "As we are within Unicron's body, it stands to reason they are some sort of antibody."

The creatures flew at us, my comrades fired at them. The beings fired back and flew towards us. I would slice any that got too close. It seemed that Ghost did the same. They exploded when she touched them though. The winged creatures started to converge on us from all places. Arcee was blasted to a lower bridge. Bulkhead fell, but grabbed onto our platform at the last second. Bee snatched Bulkhead's servo after the lug lost his grip. I covered Bee from the firing and flying creatures. Ghost saw my change from offensive to defensive action. She joined me in my effort to protect my teammates. Between the creatures I sliced, I was able to get a better look at the femme's fighting strategy. There was no denying that Ghost was in fact one of Tarn's sparklings. She was a clear outlier. When she swung at the winged creatures, her claws disappeared for a second before impact and reappeared after the explosion of Unicron's antibody had dissipated. I felt proud.

I heard my teammates struggling behind me.

"Bee let me go," Bulkhead said with worry ringing from his tone, "I'll only take you down with me!"

I put away one of my swords and helped Bee. I used my free hand to grab onto Bulkhead's wrist. We tried to pull him up, but could not. We pulled to no avail. All we could do was delay the inevitable.

"Just let go!" He yelled as our grip started to slip.

"Bulkhead!" Arcee yelled from one of the bridges below.

Bulkhead's hand slipped through Bee's. I could not hold up Bulkhead on my own. My servo skidded up to his hand, and then nothing. Optimus quickly latched on to Bulkhead's wrist, where Bee and I had failed to hold.

"I gotcha," Our leader said as he pulled Bulkhead back up. Sometimes I forgot just how strong Optimus really was. We all ran across the bridge to the walled area with a large closed off entrance. Optimus called out to down below, "Arcee!"

Our teammate ran, jumped, hitched a ride from one of the creatures, and joined us. We arrived at a large, circular locked sliding door. The winged creatures weren't letting up. Like an infinite hoard, they flew through the entryway in concentrated amounts. Bulkhead, Arcee, and Bumblebee shot at them. Optimus, Megatron, Ghost, and I slashed them to shreds. Then Megatron stopped. I looked over to him. His optics were now more purple than before. Megatron bent over, servos touching the ground and holding him up, as to ensure he didn't fall onto the dark-energon infused floor. He screamed, possibly in pain. I remembered that Optimus did not want me to go to him, so I did not. The Prime looked at me, then to Megatron, and then back to me as I was fighting the hoard. Optimus was pleased. Megatron slowly rose.

"Megatron!" Optimus called.

Megatron grabbed his head and groaned again in pain. He shut his optics and his servos shook. Then, he let go of his head, screamed, stood up, lunged out at Optimus, pushed Prime to the ground and shot at a winged creature that was about to attack him. His eyes became less purple.

"Unicron's spark," Megatron said as he pointed to the door, "Lies just beyond." He ran to the door, followed by Optimus.

Ghost's eyes followed the movements of her master. She looked at him, then back to me, then hesitated following. She fought by my side.

Optimus asked Megatron, "How do we get inside?"

Megatron replied, "By fooling Unicron's defenses into believing we're not a threat."

We all backed closer to the door, every Autobot that could, shot at the hoard. Megatron's chest touched the door and the door slid open. Megatron walked through the doorway.

Optimus yelled back at us, "Autobots, I will need you to keep our attackers at bay for as long as you can!"

Megatron and Optimus disappeared in the distance of the narrowed hallway type path. The door slid shut behind them. We continued to fight the hoard. Bee, Bulk, and Arcee shot at the beasts, their backs against the doorway. I stood in front of them and chopped anything that got too low to the ground and or too close to me. Ghost had disappeared completely, causing large sections of the anti-body hoard to explode in the distance. After five minutes of fighting, the creatures dropped to the ground and short-circuited. The threat was terminated. Before we could stop and celebrate, Ghost said something about checking on Megatron, and disappeared as she ran through the blocked doorway. We took a second to catch our breath before we destroyed the barrier Ghost didn't, and walked through the newly made doorway. We continued at a brisk pace down the corridor to greet the Earth's saviors. I retracted my mask and sheathed my swords. The rest of the Autobots looked tired, but rejoice-full all the same. At the end of the passageway, a door stood between our comrade and us. I guess Ghost decided not to open this one as well. Bulkhead got out his wrecking ball and knocked the door down, just as he did with the earlier one. We went through.

"Optimus," Bulkhead called across the room to the confused-looking mech, "Are you okay?"

Optimus appeared to be in a daze, "Why did he call me that?" he asked Megatron.

We all ran forward. We were maybe three or four lengths away from them.

"What did you do to him?" Arcee asked in a hostile tone.

"Who are they?" Optimus asked again.

"You don't remember anything?" I asked him in my normal soft tone.

A portal opened up behind Optimus, Ghost, and Megatron. Optimus looked at me for a second. He was about to say something before Megatron cut him off.

"Our mortal enemies," Megatron said as he pushed on Optimus's shoulder, shoving the mech towards the portal. Megatron yelled at him, "We're outnumbered, go!" Megatron aimed his plasma canon at us and fired. "I'll cover you," Megatron said. Ghost escorted Optimus through the portal.

I dodged Megatron's attack. He wasn't aiming for me, even though I was in the middle of the group. He aimed at Arcee, then at Bulkhead, who were on both the ends, then at Bee, the last two shots were aimed at the mechs I was standing next to. To say I dodged is a bit of an overstatement really. All I did was take a few steps back and look at Megatron as if he had intended to strike me. Bee, Arcee, and Bulk were strewn across the chasm. Bee tried to crawl to Optimus, who was being led through the ground bridge by Ghost. Optimus had heard the cannon fire and looked back at us. He was mainly drawn to Bee, because our young scout –to him- was the closest.

Bee beeped at Optimus, "Don't leave… please," to which Optimus turned away with Ghost, and left. My comrades started to get up and ran back towards Megatron. He fired back at them, while looking at me. I could feel his gaze. His optics were a pure red, like they once had been. Megatron turned, and ran into his portal. It closed behind him. I ran to join my teammates. They were utterly dazed and confused.

Ratchet sent us a ground bridge. I walked through first; the others followed me. Part of me wished they hadn't. As soon as we got back to base, I walked over to Ratchet. The humans ran up to their respective guardians.

"Arcee,"

"I was worried Bulk,"

"You alright Bee?"

Ratchet asked, "And Optimus… is he?"

"Dead?" said Arcee, "No."

Bulkhead explained, "But he looked right at us without recognizing us. Didn't even know his own name."

The humans looked at each other.

"Hmm," Ratchet said, "When Optimus surrendered the Matrix of Leadership: he lost more than the collective wisdom of the Primes. He lost his own memories."

I added, "By that logic, he must still remember everything before he initially gained the Matrix of Leadership, then… Right?"


End file.
